A Deadly Delicious Delivery (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Cindy Bell

her door. “Ally?”
    “Yes, Mee-Maw, it’s open.”
    Charlotte opened the door and took in the sight of her granddaughter. “Well, don’t you look beautiful.”
    “Beautiful?” Ally laughed.
    “Black suits you.”
    “Okay,” Ally said. “But the goal is for no one to see me.”
    “Ally, I want you to know that you don’t have to do this. You are taking a big risk. What happens if you get caught? I don’t think I should let you do this.”
    “Mee-Maw, I’m all grown up. I don’t have to have your permission.”
    “Ha! That will never be true.” Charlotte’s eyes glimmered. “You will always be my little Ally.”
    “Oh, Mee-Maw.”
    “I mean it, Ally, if you’re caught this could cause you trouble for the rest of your life.”
    “It will be fine, I promise.” Ally hugged her. “Everyone will be sleeping. It will be just fine.”
    “If you say so.” She cleared her throat. “I filled the gas tank and your car is ready to go. I also took Arnold out for his walk.”
    “Oh good.” Ally smoothed her hair. “Then we should get going.”
    Charlotte nodded without a word. The two continued in silence as Charlotte drove Ally’s car to Freely Lakes. Ally could see that most of the apartments in the building were dark. She was able to decipher which one was Myrtle’s with her grandmother’s directions. It was on the second floor, which would require Ally to do some climbing as she couldn’t go through the front door to get in. Luckily, there was a fire escape that led right up to the window.
    “Looks like I’ll be in and out in no time.” Ally smiled at her grandmother as she put on gloves.
    “I hope so. I’ll be waiting.” Charlotte gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Be careful.”
    Ally stepped out of the car. She brushed a bit more of Peaches’ orange fur off her pants. Then she moved towards the building. There was not a hint of movement anywhere on the property. It was clear that the residents of Freely Lakes were not night owls. When she reached the building she counted the windows to make sure that she hadn’t lost track of the right room. She still had no idea what she was looking for exactly, but she hoped that she would be able to find something fast.
    As quietly as Ally could she climbed the fire escape towards the window. Ally held her breath each time her shoe struck the metal rung of the steps. Once she was at the top she tried the window. A good part of her had expected that the window would be locked, she would never actually get into the room to conduct her search, and all would be right with the world. But that wasn’t the case. The window slid open easily. Ally’s heart began to race. She knew that the moment she swung her leg over that windowsill she would be committing a crime. She eased the screen out of the frame and set it down on the landing beside her. Then she peered into the dark room. There was no sign of anyone inside.
    The door of the bedroom was closed. Ally took a deep breath and swung one leg over the windowsill, then the other. It occurred to her that Freely Lakes was not a very safe place at all, certainly not safe enough for her grandmother, if she could break in so easily. She pushed the thought out of her mind and made her way through the room in search of anything that would reveal where the chocolates had come from. She used a flashlight application on her phone to cast light throughout the room.
    The first place she checked was the bedside table. As she had hoped the items she saw in the picture were still there, aside from the box of chocolates. She saw that the business card was for a lawyer. She snapped a picture of it. The greeting card was colorful, with a ‘Just Because’ message on the front. She opened it up and saw that it was addressed to Myrtle, but it just said ‘Enjoy!’ It wasn’t signed by anyone. Ally set the greeting card back down and began to survey the room again.
    In the trash can beside the bed she noticed that there was