Death by Chocolate: a Candy Land cozy mystery

Chapter 4

Red and white striped tape roped off the scene at the Molasses Swamp. The medical examiner, Mr. Mint, attended the body of Knave, taking measurements and jotting notes on a paper-laden clipboard.

"Jill, I haven't seen you in these parts in ages. How's business?" Mint enquired as Licorice, and I stepped under the tape.

"Booming," I replied. Knave's body lay in the center of the loose circle created by Mint, Licorice, and myself. The deceased wore a bright red leather jacket and black leather pants. Knave sat positioned on his knees. His arms pulled back, so his hands rested next to his feet, resembling someone in the middle of a pie-eating contest. But instead of pie, Knave's head was plunged into a wooden bucket filled with hardened chocolate. I nodded to the body. "Can you tell me what might have transpired?"

Mint tapped his candy cane-shaped pen against the clipboard. "It appears the victim drowned in this bucket of chocolate. From the positioning of the body, he may have thrust his head into the bucket--"

"See, an accident," Licorice cut in.

"Or had it thrust in by someone holding his arms and pressing on his back with their foot," I added.

Licorice snorted, but Mint tilted his head and tapped his candy pen. "You do have a point. It would explain the body's position." Mint turned his attention to me. "You knew him. Is this out of character?"

I nodded. "Very. Knave didn't even like chocolate." I nodded to the bucket. "May I?"

Mint nodded, and I pulled a surgical glove from my inside coat pocket, wiggled my hand into it, and broke off a piece of hardened chocolate. It snapped with a dull thunk and began to crumble. I lifted chocolate to my nose and sniffed. "Dark chocolate, correct?"

"That's right," Mint said and held out an evidence bag. I dropped the chunk of chocolate into it, and a glint of something golden caught my eye. "What's this?" I asked, pointing to Knave's curled left hand.

Mint crouched with me and inspected Knave's palm. Frowning, he waved over the crime scene photographer, and she snapped a couple of photos before Mint lifted the object. Mint turned it in his gloved hands. "It appears to be a piece of peanut brittle, but I won't be sure until I run some tests back at the lab." Mint opened a second evidence bag and dropped the brittle inside.

"Who found the body?" I asked, standing.

"That would be Gloopy." Licorice lifted his chin toward a great pool of a person. He appeared to be both solid and liquid at the same time.

I snapped the glove off my hand and stepped away from Knave toward my crucial witness.

"Hello, Gloopy," I said, holding out my hand. "I'm Jill, P.I. from Nurseryville." Gloopy took my hand and wiped a tear from his eye with the other. When our shake ended, I was surprised to find my hand covered in melted chocolate. Licorice, expecting my folly, offered me a handkerchief. I nodded my thanks and began my interview, wiping my hand clean. "Please, take your time and tell me everything you remember."

Gloopy took a shaky breath. "I was out for my morning swim when I spotted something bright red on the bank." I glanced back at Knave's eye-catching attire. He stood out alright. Most of Molasses Swamp was, well, made of molasses.

I turned back and nodded for Gloopy to continue.

"I swam over to investigate and found him just like that." Gloopy pointed to Knave and wiped another chocolatey tear from his gooey cheek.

"Did you see anyone suspicious lurking around before or after finding the body?" I asked.

Gloopy shook his head, weeping.

"How about a vehicle? See any cars?"

"I thought I heard a motorcycle, but I didn't see one," Gloopy said.

I pulled a coffee-stained card from my pocket and held it out. "If you remember anything, please call the sheriff or me."

With a nod, Gloopy took my card and shuffled back into the swamp.

Licorice and I returned to the medical examiner. A pair of ambulance drivers had transferred Knave's to a body bag and strapped it to a gurney. Mint scribbled away at his clipboard.

"Would you mind checking this against the chocolate in the bucket?" I held up Licorice's handkerchief with Gloopy's handshake on it.

"Sure thing," Mint held a new evidence bag aloft, and I dropped the square of fabric inside.

"Um, that's my hanky," Licorice protested as Mint sealed the bag.

"And now it's evidence," I replied. "Just out of curiosity, how many cases do you close?"

Mint snorted, and Licorice gave him a lethal glare. "We close a fair amount," he said through gritted teeth.

I looked him up and down, my gaze cool. "Any sign of a motorcycle? Knave rode here from Nurseryville to pick up the order for the bakery, and Gloopy said he heard one."

Mint shook his head. "Maybe the killer took it as a get-away vehicle."

"There was no murder," Licorice fumed. "This is such a waste of time."

"I'm interested in locating where that peanut brittle might have originated," I said, surveying the area.

Licorice puffed out his chest at the idea of knowing something I didn't. "Gramma Nut is the expert on peanut brittle."

A spark lit up my detective senses. Gramma Nut was the sketchy dame lurking in the bushes outside the sheriff's office. "I'd like to speak to her." I headed to the patrol car.

With a grunt of irritation, Licorice huffed over, yanked the driver's side door open, and slid behind the steering wheel. He jammed the key in the ignition and revved the engine to life.

I smirked to myself as we sped down the multi-colored road.