Death by Chocolate: a Candy Land cozy mystery

Chapter 8

My cell rang as we exited the patrol car outside Gloopy's patch of Molasses Swamp.

"Hey, Jill. I've finished my initial assessment of Knave's body and found a few interesting items. First, the chocolate from the handkerchief and the bucket are not a match. Gloopy is high-quality dark chocolate, and the stuff in the buck is subpar."

Just as I suspected, high-quality dark chocolate snapped when broken. The chocolate from the bucked bent before breaking, meaning it had more milk and sugar. "Any idea who would have chocolate of that caliber here in Candy Land?" I asked.

Licorice narrowed his gaze at me. "Is that my M.E.?"

I nodded, schussing him with my raised hand as Mint spoke.

"I can't imagine any Candy Land resident using this stuff. We have way too much pride. This chocolate came from outside Candy Land."

"Why is he calling you?" Licorice sheathed.

I ignored him. "Did Knave show any sign of anaphylaxis?"

"You mean from the peanut brittle." Mint shuffled through some papers before answering. "He wore a necklace that reported his allergy, which I found once I extracted his head from the bucket. His EpiPen must be with the motorcycle. His allergy was bad enough that he would have reacted to the peanut brittle in his hand if it had been placed there while he was alive."

"Someone put the peanut brittle in his hand after he died?" So someone else was with him when he died.

"And that's not all. You were right. Someone forced Knave's head into the bucket, dislocating his left shoulder. Also, the perpetrator left a shoe print-shaped bruise between his shoulder blades. And I found chocolate in his airway, meaning he was alive when his head was shoved into the bucket of chocolate."

There it was. The proof we needed that this was foul play. "Can you send me a photo of the shoeprint?" I asked.

"Right away."

I thanked Mint and caught Licorice up on the M.E.'s examination. For the first time since the investigation began, Licorice looked interested. There was a murderer in his town.

"Let's go see what else Gloopy forgot to mention," Licorice said, making a beeline for Gloopy's.