23. Hattie

HATTIE

A familiar young woman with short blonde hair and a bright smile strides my way, holding a tray filled with Halloween-themed chocolates. Her hair is styled in a platinum blonde pixie cut, and her verdant green eyes sparkle with an energy all their own.

Stella Woods is dressed in the very same festive uniform as the rest of the staff here today—a black and orange striped apron with bats and pumpkins peppered all over it. And just like the rest of them, she has a witch's hat perched on her head.

"Hello, welcome to Moon's Chocolate Delights. I'm Stella Woods, the manager here," she says, extending the tray toward me with chocolates of every shape and size. "Would you like to try some of our Halloween specials? This one is our witches' brew truffle—dark chocolate with a hint of cinnamon and chili. And this one here is the ghostly ganache—a white chocolate shell with a rich, dark chocolate center."

"Oh wow." I can't help but grin as I reach for the witches' brew. "Thanks, Stella. These look amazing. My name is Hattie, by the way, and this is my sweet cat, Cricket." I turn my shoulder slightly and Cricket pokes her head out from my tote bag.

"Oh my word." She laughs as she says it. "Well hello there, you little cutie. I sure wish I had something to give you." She tips her head. "Wait just a minute." She reaches into her apron pocket and pulls out a little gold bell with an orange and black ribbon attached. "This, my dear, is just for you," she says, landing it next to Cricket in the bag.

"Oh, thank you," I coo as Cricket busies herself with her new toy. "That's very kind of you."

Stella's smile widens. "It's my pleasure. We love getting into the Halloween spirit here at Moon's Chocolate Delights. In fact, I've been working on these recipes for weeks." She holds out the tray to emphasize her point.

I bite into the witches' brew truffle, and the combination of dark chocolate and spicy undertones explodes in my mouth.

" Mmm , wow, this is incredible. You have a real talent."

"Thank you," Stella says with a twinkle of pride in her eyes. "Silas and I worked hard to perfect these recipes. It's always been about more than just making chocolates for us. It's about creating an experience."

I nod, savoring the flavors. "You're definitely succeeding. You must have loved working with Silas."

Stella's expression softens, and she looks down at the tray of chocolates. "I did. Silas was like family." Family you love to hate.

I suck in a quick breath at the thought.

"He had such a passion for this place," she goes on. "Especially when it came to making people happy through his creations. It's been hard without him." Actually, it's been easier, she muses to herself. Much, much easier. The man was nothing but a walking ball of red tape. With Silas gone, I can finally stretch my wings.

Oh goodness, Cricket mewls. She's confessing, isn't she? You're making faces, Hattie. Must you be such an open book?

My fingers raise to my lips. "Oh, Stella, I'm really sorry for your loss. It must be difficult trying to keep everything going."

The woman takes a deep breath and nods as she gives a shifty look around. "It is, but I'm determined to keep his mother's dream alive. This was initially her baby. She put so much of herself into this shop. I worked with her for years before she passed. It's the least I can do to honor her memory." She lifts the tray my way. "Go on, try another."

"Well, since you twisted my arm." I pick up the ghostly ganache and let the creamy chocolate melt on my tongue before I decide to gently steer the conversation. "I think I saw you the other night at Halloween Hollow. You were there, right?"

Stella's eyes flicker with something I can't quite put my finger on. "Yes, I was there. It was supposed to be a fun night, but…"

"But it turned into a nightmare," I finish for her. "I can't imagine how shocking it must have been to lose Silas like that."

"It was," Stella agrees and her voice is barely above a whisper. "We were just talking about new ideas for the shop. Then, everything changed." So maybe we weren't exactly agreeing on those new ideas, but look how they turned out? Hattie seems pleased as punch with my Halloween treats and so are other customers. Why couldn't Silas see that I was more than just some lackey who ran the registers? I'm a creative being with a real passion for the place. If I could go back in time, I'd strangle him for resisting everything I had to say. Silas and I could have really turned this place into something big. And now who knows what will become of it.

She could just strangle him? I wonder if she could have stabbed him, too?

"I heard there were some arguments that night with some of the staff," I say carefully because Stella here is the staff in question. "Do you think that had anything to do with what happened?"

Stella's gaze sharpens. "There were disagreements, yes. Silas was very particular about his business. He wanted everything to be perfect."

"Did he have any enemies? Anyone who might have wanted to harm him?" I ask, trying to keep my tone light, and Cricket nods my way as if to say she approves of the effort I'm putting in.

Stella hesitates, then nods slowly. "Venetta Brandt."

"Venetta Brandt was his enemy?" I give a few hard blinks.

Don't look so surprised, Hattie, Cricket mewls. She was found holding the murder weapon. Here's your chance to land her in a striped suit forever.

Maybe so.

"Venetta Brandt." Stella shrugs as she puts the platter down on the counter next to her. "So I take it you know Venetta?"

"I'm more than familiar," I say a little too stoically as if Venetta were a grave disease one might have the displeasure to contract. And oddly, I sort of think of her that way.

"She and Silas seemed to have a complicated relationship," Stella goes on. "She was always around the shop here, always trying to get involved in his decisions. Apparently, she was buying boxes of chocolate to outfit those spas she runs. And I think Silas was doing some refurbishment to a couple of them, too."

"Oh right, the Velvet Vanity Spas." I leave out the tidbit about my boyfriend's mother owning them. "Stella, did you see Silas and Venetta argue that night?"

I certainly saw it myself, but I'm not about to tell her that. I need to hear things from Stella's perspective.

"Yes," she admits. "They had a heated discussion about something business-related. Silas wasn't happy with her, and she left looking pretty upset."

"What specifically?" I ask a little too aggressively. I can't help it. It's all I can do to keep from shaking the woman.

"Let's see." She cringes. "You know, I'm not really sure, but I did hear him say that he was disappointed in her and that the world would be, too."

Both Cricket and I gasp.

"That's interesting," I say, filing that juicy piece of information away. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I sure hope they catch whoever did this." I tip my ear her way as if to hear her thoughts better.

"You and me both." She shivers as she says it. "I'm still having nightmares of him lying there with that wound in his chest." Someone calls for her from the other side of the counter and she nods. "It was nice meeting you, Hattie. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Just fifty pounds of chocolate."

After a brief explanation, a rather stunned Stella heads off to make all of my chocolate wishes come true.

Speaking of which, I crane my neck and spot Clarabelle and Peggy seated at a tiny bistro table, each with a mountain of bonbons set on a platter at least a foot high.

"What in the world." I speed that way. "What's happening and why?" I practically shout.

"Oh hon, don't worry." Peg waves me off. "I paid for it all."

Clarabelle nods. "We're having a good old-fashioned chocolate face-off. Loser takes the winner to dinner."

"After all that chocolate, the only nourishment you'll be needing is from an IV," I tell them.

Cricket chitters. I say let the fun begin. She turns my way. Can I have a mountain of catnip?

"I'll put it on the list for Santa," I say. Santa would be Killion, and I know for a fact he'd do anything for Cricket—at least in an effort to get on her good side.

The bell on the door goes off as another group of customers moves in and both Clarabelle and Peggy shout go!

And go they do. I've never seen two women shoving so much chocolate into their mouths at once. Their cheeks fill up like chipmunks as they do their best to chew and swallow what I'm certain is an illegal amount of confections.

"Ladies, please," I say. "I think maybe we should call it a draw."

The two of them grumble something unintelligible my way, and I think Peggy gave me the finger. They keep at it until they're both moaning as if they couldn't look at another bite of chocolate—and miraculously they both have three pieces left on their plates.

"How about I buy you both dinner?" I toss it out there. "In fact, I'll take you to Seabreeze," I offer. "My treat."

On your salary? Cricket yowls up at me. You don't have the money for that.

She's right, but these two don't know that. Besides, they look as if those last few pieces just might kill them.

But somehow, someway, they both manage to shove in another, then another, then the very last.

" It's a tie ," I shout and the room breaks out into cheers. To my surprise, quite the crowd had amassed.

"I don't believe in ties," Peggy says and motions for one of the girls working the register and she brings them each another mountain of chocolate horror.

Cricket rings her newfound bell, and just as round two starts, both Peggy and Clarabelle flop face-down onto the table and the entire room breaks out into screams.