Read Online Fudge-Laced Felonies by Cynthia Hickey - Free Book Online

prison and can be quite useful to me. Don’t you think?
     
     
     
    Six
     
    I sat at the candy-dipping machine the next morning, forlorn, using my finger to swirl the chocolate into cursive letters on top of the covered vanilla creams. I hadn’t gathered any evidence on the diamond case while at the ball. Worse, Ethan hadn’t kissed me good night at the door. Instead, he’d chucked me under the chin like a two-year-old. I bet he would’ve kissed Terri Lee. Kissed her so hard the red would’ve melted off her dress.
    On the way home, April and Joe had chattered like a couple of magpies. Apparently, their date had gone as planned. I hoped she’d at least remembered to garner information from him.
    I sighed. There had to be a better way of gathering clues. Watching people didn’t work. I’d bet my last dollar the guilty party was Terri Lee. She was too beautiful to be innocent. I sighed again.
    “What’s wrong with you this morning? You should’ve stayed home like I told you to if all you’re going to do is mope around.” Aunt Eunice removed the full tray and replaced it with one I had to complete. Strawberry creams this time.
    “Do you mind if I take off for a bit? I’d like to run by the bookstore.”
    “Didn’t I just say that? Why is this business with the diamonds so important to you, Summer?” She planted her fists on hips covered with a red apron. “Why do you feel compelled to get involved?”
    Why did I? Maybe I wanted people to stop thinking of me as an empty-headed Barbie doll. I didn’t look like a Barbie doll, not having the proportions that famous female possessed. All my life, I’d been sheltered. Protected. I wanted everyone to know I could take care of myself. That I was stronger than my thin, five-foot-two-inch frame suggested.
    “Just for fun.” I ran the last cream through the machine and flipped the Off switch. “Keeps my brain functioning.”
    “Keeps your brain functioning, my foot. A girl your age doesn’t have to worry about a brain going lax. Not yet.” The bell over the front door tinkled, and Aunt Eunice went to wait on the customer, muttering under her breath.
    Two doors down from Summer Confections sat the greatest bookstore in the world: Grandma’s Story Corner. They’d expanded the store over the years, as folks from neighboring towns came to Mountain Shadows for the Story Corner’s ambience. Grandma sold freshly baked pastries and delicious fragrant coffee served hot or frozen. And if Grandma didn’t carry what you wanted, she could get it for you.
    I pushed open the dark walnut door and took a big sniff. I loved the smell of new books. Had ever since I was a child. That welcome aroma drifted to me along with the smell of warm, yeasty pastries.
    “Good morning, Summer.” Grandma didn’t look the stereotype. She was tall and thin with dyed, coal black hair, painted-on eyebrows, and heavily outlined lips. But the woman knew her business.
    “Good morning, Grandma.” I leaned on the counter, eyeing the blueberry muffins. “I’m looking for a book on crime solving. And I want a muffin and a frozen mocha.”
    “Are you going into the detective business?” Grandma lifted the muffin with a pair of silver-plated grips. She smiled a greeting at a couple who stood behind me.
    “No, uh, I’m writing a novel.” Great. Now I’ll have to write one. I didn’t want another lie on my conscience.
    “Then I’d suggest the ‘Dummy Corner.’ ” She pushed the button on the blender, mixing my coffee.
    Dummy Corner? I was getting a complex.
    “You can find a book on anything suited for the ordinary layperson.”
    “Okay. Thanks.” I prayed no one would see me as I made my way to the back corner of the store, avoiding other patrons. I let out a breath of relief once I reached the section. A wide selection lined the walls, from The Dolt’s Complete Guide to Calculus to The Dolt’s Complete Guide to Learning Spanish. And right there, staring at me, The Dolt’s