A Deadly Delicious Delivery (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

fall off a shelf.
    “Please be careful.” She frowned at the officer who bumped into it. The shop was full of handmade pieces of art that Charlotte had collected over the years.
    “Sorry, Ma’am.”
    Ally pulled away from Luke and walked over to her grandmother. She wrapped her arm around her. “Maybe we should go outside while they do the search.”
    “No, absolutely not.” Charlotte glared at the officers. “I will be right here, watching everything they do and exactly who does it. I have never been so offended.”
    “Mee-Maw, what can they do? They found poison in the chocolates. They have to investigate.”
    Charlotte looked straight over at Luke. “Maybe they should be investigating how the chocolates were poisoned after they left the shop, because it certainly didn’t happen here. Instead of wasting time on believing that there is something to find in the shop, the focus should be on who had a reason to bring harm to Myrtle.”
    “I can assure you, Charlotte, we are looking into all leads. However, we can’t allow the public to be at risk. Once we ensure that the shop is safe, it will be reopened and you two can conduct business as usual.”
    “Except that everyone in town will know that it was searched by police and connected with a murder.”  Charlotte crossed her arms. Ally placed a hand on her grandmother’s arm.
    “We can’t blame Luke, Mee-Maw.”
    “Can’t we?”
    “Charlotte please, I’m only doing my job here.”
    “And I’m only trying to protect my business and my reputation,” Charlotte stated.
    Ally frowned. She understood why Luke was there. A woman was dead, and all of the evidence so far pointed right to the shop. But she felt that the way he handled the situation could have been much more delicate and less public. But maybe she was being oversensitive.
    “How long will this take?” Ally met his eyes.
    “It shouldn’t take too long. They’ll take the paperwork away to look at. They’ll have to get rid of all of the open consumables in the shop. They’ll also have to test some samples of the chocolates that you have here, some of the raw ingredients and inspect some of your equipment, and then wait for the health department to clear the shop.”
    “This is ridiculous.” Charlotte shook her head sharply. “And who is investigating where the real crime actually occurred?”
    “I understand why you are upset, Charlotte, but I…”
    “It’s Mrs. Sweet to you.” Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Luke lowered his eyes. He glanced over at Ally who avoided looking back at him.
    “Yes, Mrs. Sweet. I understand why you are upset, but the fact remains that a woman is dead and the chocolates she ate were from your shop. They were laced with antifreeze.”
    “Oh no, she wasn’t drunk yesterday!” The words spilled from Charlotte’s lips before she could stop them.
    “So, you admit to having contact with Myrtle yesterday?” Luke pulled out his notepad.
    “Admit? As if I’m confessing something? Yes, we saw her yesterday,” Charlotte said.
    Ally’s heart sunk as she realized that Myrtle didn’t start acting strange until after she took one of the boxes of chocolates from Ally. As she liked the chocolates so much, Myrtle had likely eaten quite a bit of the box.
    “Ally, did you notice anything that I should know about?” Luke tried to meet her eyes.
    “I don’t know,” Ally whispered.
    “Not now, Ally. They’re headed to the kitchen. I’m going with them.” Charlotte followed the majority of the officers into the kitchen.
    “Ally?” Luke reached a hand out to stop her from moving past the counter to follow her grandmother. “Anything you have to tell me could only help.”
    “I don’t know about that.” Ally tried not to be swayed by the warmth in his eyes.
    “I don’t think you had anything to do with this, Ally. Anything you can tell me will only make things easier.”
    “Let me think about it.” Ally gently grasped his forearm and swept it out of her