Pumpkin Spice Lies: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 16 Read online

  Pumpkin Spice Lies

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery

  By Kathleen Suzette

  Copyright © 2020 by Kathleen Suzette. All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination, or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

  Books by Kathleen Suzette:

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery Series

  Clam Chowder and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 1

  A Short Stack and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 2

  Cherry Pie and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 3

  Barbecue and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 4

  Birthday Cake and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 5

  Hot Cider and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 6

  Roast Turkey and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 7

  Gingerbread and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 8

  Fish Fry and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 9

  Cupcakes and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 10

  Lemon Pie and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 11

  Pasta and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 12

  Chocolate Cake and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 13

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery Series

  Candy Coated Murder

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 1

  Murderously Sweet

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 2

  Chocolate Covered Murder

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 3

  Death and Sweets

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 4

  Sugared Demise

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 5

  Confectionately Dead

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 6

  Hard Candy and a Killer

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 7

  Candy Kisses and a Killer

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 8

  Terminal Taffy

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 9

  Fudgy Fatality

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 10

  Truffled Murder

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 11

  Caramel Murder

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 12

  Peppermint Fudge Killer

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 13

  Chocolate Heart Killer

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 14

  Strawberry Creams and Death

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 15

  Pumpkin Spice Lies

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 16

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery Series

  Apple Pie A La Murder,

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 1

  Trick or Treat and Murder,

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 2

  Thankfully Dead

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 3

  Candy Cane Killer

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 4

  Ice Cold Murder

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 5

  Love is Murder

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 6

  Strawberry Surprise Killer

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 7

  Plum Dead

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, book 8

  Red, White, and Blue Murder

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, book 9

  A Gracie Williams Mystery Series

  Pushing Up Daisies in Arizona,

  A Gracie Williams Mystery, Book 1

  Kicked the Bucket in Arizona,

  A Gracie Williams Mystery, Book 2

  A Home Economics Mystery Series

  Appliqued to Death

  A Home Economics Mystery, book 1

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter One

  I walked into the kitchen at the candy store and stopped, inhaling deeply. The scent of a mixture of spices hung in the air. “Oh my gosh, that smells so good,” I said.

  Mom looked at me from where she stood at the counter, smoothing out a tray of fudge with the back of a wooden spoon. She smiled. “The first batch of the year of pumpkin spice fudge. It seems like forever since I made any, and I sure do miss it.”

  I went to stand beside her, looking at the huge tray of fudge she had made. “I miss it, too. There’s nothing like pumpkin spice fudge.” The cinnamon and clove scent brought back so many memories from Halloweens past. “I think I could eat this whole tray by myself.”

  “You and me both,” she said with a grin. “Let’s give it a few more minutes to set up, and then we’ll have a taste.”

  My mouth watered. “I don’t know if I can wait, but I’ll try.” If ever there was a scent that told the story of my life, it would have to be pumpkin spice.

  “I recognize that wonderful smell,” Christy said, suddenly appearing at the kitchen doorway. “I can smell it all the way over in the shop.”

  We had recently leased the smaller shop next door to the candy store and turned it into our kitchen so we could enlarge the candy shop and also make a break room for the employees. Beginning last year, we had had to hire temporary employees that worked during the busier seasons, so the break room had been a needed addition.

  I turned to her. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  She came to look at the fudge, and smelled it. “Oh, my gosh, I’ve got to have some now. Can I please have some pumpkin spice fudge?”

  “Give it a few minutes to finish cooling,” Mom said. “We’ll all have some then.”

  Christy groaned.

  Pumpkin Hollow is a small town in Northern California, and we celebrate Halloween all year long. The Halloween season runs from Labor Day weekend through about the second week of November, depending on when the second weekend of the month lands. But we had decided that having a mini Halloween season during the summer would do a lot to help local businesses. We dubbed the event Pumpkin Hollow Days, and it ran for two weeks in July. Tomorrow was the opening day of our second annual Pumpkin Hollow Days event, and the town was abuzz with excitement.

  We weren’t selling the pumpkin spice fudge online or in the store until tomorrow, and it would only be available for the two weeks that Pumpkin Hollow Days ran. It would make another appearance online and in the candy store during the Halloween season, and then be retired again after Thanksgiving. Pumpkin Hollow Days was our little tease until the Halloween season began.

  “You should sell pumpkin spice fudge all year long,” Christy
said, smoothing a tiny bit of the fudge from the edge of the pan where it had spilled. She put it in her mouth and groaned. “So good.”

  “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but since we’re talking about candy, it makes the taste buds grow fonder,” Mom said. “If we sell it all year long, it will become common and every day. It’s special, and I want to keep it that way.”

  I knew what Mom meant, but I was pretty sure I could eat it every day and not grow tired of it.

  The Pumpkin Hollow Candy Store was handed down from my mother’s parents, and one day it would be handed down to Christy and me.

  “I know,” Christy relented. “I just love this stuff.”

  Mom chuckled and went to the cupboard and removed a knife and three small plates. “Me too. I guess it won’t hurt if we don’t wait.”

  She cut into one end of the fudge and put three small pieces on the plates and handed them to us.

  “Yum,” I said and took a bite of the still warm fudge. As I ate it, the swirl of spices filled my mouth, and I made a ‘0’ with my thumb and forefinger. “Perfect.”

  “Do you think I put too much cloves in it?” Mom asked, smelling her piece.

  I shook my head. “No. I love cloves. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  “It’s wonderful,” Christy agreed. “I swear, I could eat a pound of this every day.”

  “Me too,” I said and finished the small piece. I looked longingly at the rest of the fudge in the pan. I could seriously eat a huge slab of it by myself.

  “We already have fourteen walk-in orders for it,” Mom informed us. “The locals know it’s coming and they couldn’t wait. I’ve got to get some more made. I think I’ll leave the recipe as it is. Unless I decide to add more ginger later.” She shrugged.

  “Fourteen?” Christy asked. “On top of what you’re making to take to the vendor fair tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “People have been coming in for days now, placing orders for it.”

  “I don’t blame them, but that’s a lot of fudge to make today,” I said. “I’m glad they can’t order it online yet.”

  “Well, that changes tomorrow, so we’ve got to get working on it,” Mom said as she measured out sugar for another batch.

  “Hey, I knew I smelled something good coming from in here.”

  I turned and saw my fiancé, Detective Ethan Banks, standing in the doorway. “Doesn’t it smell heavenly?”

  He chuckled and came to stare at the pan of fudge. “Heavenly is the right word for it. How did I not know this was happening today?”

  “I don’t know. You weren’t thinking,” I said and brushed a lock of blond hair from his forehead. “We’ve got the vendor fair tomorrow, and Mom said she already has orders for pumpkin spice fudge waiting to be filled.” I went to the cupboard and got him a plate.

  “Can I put an order in?” he asked, looking at Mom.

  “Of course you can,” she said. “But there may be a little wait. How are you doing, Ethan?” She went to the refrigerator to get the butter out.

  He nodded. “I’m doing great now that I’m getting some pumpkin spice fudge. I swear, the whole candy store smells like pumpkin spice. You’re going to drive the customers crazy with it.”

  “Good, we’ll sell a bunch of it,” Mom said.

  I cut him a piece that was larger than what Mom had given us, and put it on the plate and handed it to him. “Here you go.”

  He leaned over and kissed me and took the plate. “You’re the best fiancée a guy could ever have.”

  I chuckled and felt myself blush. “You’re so adorable,” I said and hugged him.

  “You two are sickeningly cute,” Christy said dryly.

  “We can’t help it, it comes naturally,” Ethan said and took a bite of his fudge.

  I shrugged at her. “You and Devon are cute, too, so you can’t say anything about us being too cute.”

  She smiled. “I’m going back out front to make sure everything is filled and straightened.” She headed to the kitchen doorway.

  “Well?” I asked Ethan.

  He shook his head. “This is the best fudge I’ve ever eaten. Seriously. I love all the flavors you make, Ann, but this is the best, hands down.”

  My mother turned to him, carton of butter in hand. “Thank you, Ethan, that’s kind of you to say. I think we’re all partial to it. But I love hearing how much people enjoy the candy I make.”

  “I’ll tell you how much I love it, as long as I get a lot of it.”

  She grinned and unwrapped a cube of butter.

  “What are you up to?” I asked him.

  He shrugged. “Not much. I just got a break in between doing paperwork and a meeting, and I thought I’d stop by and see what you were up to.”

  “I’m glad you stopped by. I have bad news, though.”

  His eyes widened. “What? How bad?”

  I shrugged. “Kind of bad. I can’t find a place to hold the wedding reception. I waited too long to find one. I’m sorry.” I’d been worried about it for weeks as I called around to find a venue, and I didn’t have any choice but to tell him now.

  “What about the ballroom? I know you don’t want to hold it there because of the murders, but it’s a nice place.” He finished his piece of fudge and eyed the tray.

  “It’s booked. The Baptist church has a recreation hall we could use, but it’s small and stuffy. I don’t want to do it there.” It was my fault we didn’t have a place to hold the reception. I hadn’t gotten around to looking into it when like I should have.

  His mouth made a straight line. “We’ll have to come up with something.”

  “Why don’t you have it in our backyard?” Mom suggested.

  “Your backyard?” I asked, turning to her.

  She nodded. “Sure, there’s the gazebo back there, and you could rent some tables and chairs, and string some tiny clear lights in the trees. I think it would be sweet.”

  As she spoke, I suddenly pictured it. Mom and Dad had a large backyard, and the white wooden gazebo was sitting at the back of the yard. We could set tables with food beneath it, and string the tiny lights all over the yard. It would be beautiful. I looked at Ethan.

  “What do you think?”

  He grinned. “I think it would be perfect.”

  “I think so, too.” I looked at Mom. “Let’s do it. We weren’t planning on having a fancy dinner anyway. We could set the food up buffet style, get some pretty centerpieces, and put everything together without any trouble.”

  She nodded. “Let’s do it, then. We can come up with a lot of ideas to make it really pretty.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Mom, you just solved all of my problems.”

  She smiled and shook her head as she turned the fire on beneath the saucepan. “I’m not a problem solver by calling, but I can do it when the pressure is on.”

  I chuckled and kissed Ethan. Mom and Dad’s backyard would be perfect.

  Chapter Two

  After Ethan left, Christy and I set about cleaning the candy store and making sure all the shelves were filled. We had extended the front counter when we had moved the kitchen and there were new glass candy dispensers with wrapped candy on the extended front counter. Taffy, striped candy sticks, gumballs, and an assortment of gummy candies and licorice.

  We’d also bought a few new decorations for the store, including a life-sized scarecrow that sat on a bale of straw, and a gigantic jack-o’-lantern with a happy grin that sat next to him. Clear twinkle lights were strung around the front window, and we put up fresh spider web in the corners. I glanced around the shop, making sure everything was ready and in its place.

  “Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?” Linda Reid asked as she came to stand beside me and look over the shop herself. Linda was one of our part-time employees, and a friend of my mother’s who had proved to be an excellent addition to the staff.

  “I think it does. I still need to stop by the gift shop and pick up some blackberry pie and pumpkin spice candles P
olly got in. We can burn them and make the place smell even tastier than it already does.”

  “Oh, blackberry pie candles? I might need to stop by there myself and pick up a few things for my house.”

  “They sound good, don’t they? I want to put some on the front counter, and maybe put some here and there on the shelves.” I stepped forward and straightened a fabric witch that was hanging precariously from a shelf.

  “I can hardly wait for the Halloween season. Pumpkin Hollow Days are far too short for my tastes.”

  I smiled. “You’re right. I still prefer the Halloween season. The weather is beautiful in the fall, and I get to wear sweaters and boots. We’ll just call Pumpkin Hollow Days a dry run for the big show.”

  She chuckled and headed to the kitchen. “I’ll see if your mother needs any help.”

  The bell over the door jingled, and I turned toward it. Mary Jones walked through the door and smiled at me. “Hi Mia,” she said. “I was driving by, and I suddenly had a hankering for your mother’s fudge.”

  “Well, you came to the right place then.” I went back behind the counter while Mary stepped up to the display case.

  “You all did some rearranging in here, didn’t you? I guess I haven’t been in here in a long while.”

  “We did. We took over the shop next door and turned it into our kitchen and made the shop a little bigger.”

  She looked around, her white curly hair bobbing with the motion. “Well, I like it. It gives you more room to put out more candy. That’s a good thing.” She chuckled.

  “We thought it was a good idea with all the Internet sales we’ve been doing. We just didn’t have enough room to pack and ship everything in our former kitchen.”

  She looked at me. “The world sure has changed since I was young. I guess just saying something like that makes me sound old.” She chuckled and looked into the display case again.

  “Nonsense. You’re only as old as you feel.”

  She chuckled again. “The problem is, I feel old.” She shrugged, grinning. “Oh well, I guess if I don’t tell anyone, maybe they won’t notice.”

  “That’s right. With tomorrow being the start of Pumpkin Hollow Days, you get a chance to feel like a kid again. You can dress up and go trick or treating with the kids.” On the last Saturday of Pumpkin Hollow Days, the kids would go trick or treating at the businesses. I could hardly wait.