Read Online The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up by JoAnna Carl - Free Book Online Page B

I got scared. But I guess it was just an animal.”
    Joe stood there, staring at me. I’m not usually the clingy type—even when I’m threatened by trees. I could tell he was mystified. But I couldn’t worry about that.
    “Joe, could we get out of here?”
    “Sure.” Joe handed me my tote bag and slid behind the steering wheel. He started the truck’s motor.
    “I need to get the van and head home,” I said. I slid over next to the right-hand door and fastened my seat belt.
    Joe turned his head toward me. In the dim light from the dash I could see that he looked more mystified than ever. And maybe angry. But I couldn’t help that.
    “You sure changed your mood in a hurry,” he said.
    Yikes! I’d forgotten that I’d offered Joe coffee and chocolate at TenHuis Chocolade. Now I was having to back out. “I’m sorry. But I’ve got to see Aunt Nettie.”
    “Your aunt?”
    “It’s important.”
    “What’s wrong, Lee?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Did I do something? Say something?”
    “No! No, I’ve just got to pick up my van and get home to see Aunt Nettie. Let’s go!”
    Joe stared another moment. Then he backed the truck around and drove off, down the narrow road that led to the settled part of Warner Pier.
    Once we were away from the shop, I opened my mouth, ready to tell Joe about Hershel. Then I pictured his reaction. He’d certainly never let Aunt Nettie and me meet Hershel at the old chapel without him. And if Joe was there, Hershel might not come.
    And where was this old chapel? Was it the place Patsy had mentioned—the one Hershel went to when he was really frightened? It must be.
    I didn’t know what to do. I waffled all the way to the shop.
    My silent debate was the only conversation that went on. Joe didn’t say a word. He is not usually sulky, but he had a right to be mad—certainly puzzled—by my sudden about-face, building him up for a late-night tête-à-tête, then changing my mind. But I was too frantic about how to deal with Hershel to worry about him.
    When we drove down Peach Street, past TenHuis Chocolade, I saw lights inside. “Oh. Aunt Nettie’s still here!”
    “Why would she be there so late?”
    “I don’t know. I hope nothing went wrong with the big kettle cleanup. Just pull up in front.”
    The minute the truck stopped moving I opened the door and got out. “Thanks for the ride.”
    “Lee!”
    “I can’t talk, Joe.”
    I started across the sidewalk, and Joe jumped out of the truck and followed me. “Lee! What came over you? Did I do something wrong?”
    “No! I’ve just got to see Aunt Nettie.”
    “Why? I want to know what’s going on.”
    “Nothing’s going on!” Inside the shop, back in the workroom, I could see Aunt Nettie. She was standing beside the dark chocolate vat. On the work table behind her I could see several big stainless steel bowls.
    “Lee . . .”
    “Joe, I’ve got to go.”
    I yanked away and turned toward the front door of the shop, but before I could get there, a terrific bang rang out.
    “Lee!” Joe jumped about six feet, grabbed me by the arms and shoved me up against the brick wall beside the door. “Get down!”
    “Joe! Let me go!”
    “That was a shot!”
    “It was not! Aunt Nettie is breaking chocolate!”
    Joe backed off slightly. “Breaking chocolate?”
    “Breaking chocolate. We got stuck with some chocolate that comes in ten-pound bars. They can’t go into the chocolate vats until they’re broken up.”
    “I never heard that noise around the shop before.”
    “We usually get chocolate in little bits—almost granules. But our supplier substituted bars. Let me go, please.”
    Joe moved away, scowling.
    “I’m sorry, Joe,” I said. “I know I’m not behaving rationally. But I thought of something while you were getting my bag, and it’s vital that I talk to Aunt Nettie about it.”
    This time Joe didn’t argue. I went into the shop and closed and locked the door behind me. I didn’t look back at him.
    The aroma