Hot Chocolate Hissy Fits & Murder Read online

  Hot Chocolate, Hissy Fits & Murder

  by

  Sara Bourgeois

  Chapter 1

  Kari

  “Are you still glad you decided to do this with me?” Kasi asked, laughing as her sister wiped the sweat off her forehead.

  “Yes.” Kari replied, though she certainly didn’t feel happy at that moment. They were at the Fight Lab MMA Gym for their weekly self-defense class and, though Kari knew it was a very good idea for them both, she had to admit she was wiped out. “Are you about ready to go?”

  Class had been over for almost fifteen minutes, but Kasi had wanted to stay late and practice her kicks. Kari was a little worried that she was becoming obsessed.

  “You girls staying late, too?” Becky Banks, one of their classmates and the owner of the Beautiful Day Salon, gave them each a mischievous grin.

  “Yep, wanted to get some more practice in,” Kasi told her.

  “Me, too,” Becky said, adjusting her sports bra and taking a feeble swipe at a heavy bag.

  Kari raised an eyebrow at her sister. In the few months they’d been in class together, they’d seen Becky spend more times flirting with instructor Bruce Wincott than on actual working out. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d stayed to improve her skills, or if it was more due to the fact that Bruce was hanging around late as well.

  “You can never have too much practice,” Kasi said, completely missing her sister’s meaningful look as she delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the bag. “Can you believe I wasn’t even able to do one of these just a few months ago?”

  “I still can’t,” Kari said with a laugh, giving the bag a few weak front kicks. Her legs were on fire, and she worried about how she’d feel the next day. It seemed she spent more time massaging muscle rub into her legs these days than any other activity. She’d grown to love ibuprofen way too much.

  “Hey, don’t give up, Kari!” Bruce ambled up and gave her a smile. “You’re doing great!”

  “Thanks,” Kari told him, putting her hands on her knees so she could catch her breath. “But sometimes I think I’m getting worse.”

  “No way!” Bruce said enthusiastically. “You’re getting better every day!”

  Bruce was one of the most energetic people Kari had ever met. Though he had to be in his early 50s, Bruce was incredibly in shape and didn’t look a day over 40. With his red hair and closely cropped red beard, he always reminded Kari of Chuck Norris.

  “How about me?” Becky asked, giving her bag a side kick that barely even made it move. “Am I getting better?”

  Bruce gave her a nod, but hurriedly moved over to watch Kasi do a series of combination punches, her face wrinkled in concentration. “Awesome job, Kasi!” he told her. “You’ve been pushing it hard all morning. Think it’s time to call it a day?”

  See, he’s concerned about her, too, Kari thought. It’s not just me being overprotective.

  “Maybe just a few more minutes,” Kasi told him. “I’ve still got some energy left!”

  Kari leaned against her bag as she watched her sister dive back into her routine. Ever since she’d been stalked by a killer and then been able to use her skills to disarm a different murderer who had threatened her sister, Kasi had devoted more and more time to learning self-defense. Kari knew that it was not only a way to take her mind off recent events, but that it also gave her sister peace of mind that she could defend herself again if the need arose.

  However, Kari was worried that Kasi was losing her carefree nature that had always been the central part of her personality. Never a gym-goer, Kasi had always insisted that life was too short to be sweaty all the time and that her fast metabolism was a sign that she was never meant to be an devoted exerciser.

  “What you doin’ over there, slacker?” Kasi, breathing heavily, looked at her sister with a grin. “You know, if you’d stop thinking about Hunter all the time, maybe you’d have more mental energy to focus on your workouts!” She gave her a wink to show she was just joking with her.

  “Sure, that’s the problem,” Kari retorted. “Not the fact that I lose my balance—and my breath! —with every kick.” Now that his name was brought up, though, Kari did find her mind wandering to the handsome police officer who she’d been spending more and more time with. Though they’d only been on a few what you could call dates, they seemed to be forming a relationship that Kari hoped was leading somewhere.

  “Good job, ladies,” Bruce said after watching the three of them for a few more minutes. He walked over to Kari. “Now, when you’re feeling tired, imagine this bag isn’t just a bag. It’s an attacker, and he’s threatening someone you love.”

  Kari didn’t have to imagine that. She’d been involved in a few situations recently where she and those closest to her actually had been in danger. It was just the motivation she needed to finally deliver a solid kick to the bag, causing the rest of the people in the gym to erupt in applause.

  “Good job!” Kasi said, holding up her hand for a high five. “You did it! See, I knew you could. You just have to get the right image in your head. It’s all about mindset.”

  “Exactly,” Bruce said, patting her on the back. “The body follows where the mind goes first. That’s what most people don’t realize. They think that the thoughts going through their head have no effect on how their body performs, but they couldn’t be more wrong.”

  “What are your thoughts usually on?” Becky asked, giving him a coy look. “You’re so motivated and focused, I’d sure like to know what goes through your head.”

  Bruce looked at her and chuckled, though the laugh was a nervous one. “Oh, Becky, my thoughts are all about the movements and the goals I want those movements to accomplish. I learned how to harness my thoughts when I started practicing tai-chi.”

  “Mmm-hmmm,” Becky hummed with a smile. “I wish it was that easy for me! My thoughts are always all over the place.”

  Bruce gave her another nervous laugh, then said loudly, “Hey guys! I’m going to ask if you can all wrap it up! I have some errands to run today and I was going to close down the gym a little early.” He glanced at his watch. “If you can all be done in about fifteen minutes, that would be great.”

  “Oh, darn,” Kari said sarcastically. “And I was really looking forward to another hour or two of this.”

  Kasi gave the bag a final kick. “Okay, okay, I guess I can call it a day.” She looked at her sister. “I’m really proud if you, sis.”

  “Me, too.” Bruce gave her a final pat on the back, then grimaced. “Um, I think I’m just gonna go get changed.”

  The girls watched as he made his way to the locker rooms, his hand on his stomach.

  “Is he okay?” Becky asked.

  “He looked like he was in pain,” Kasi agreed. “Maybe just some cramps? I’ve heard that can happen if you get dehydrated.”

  “I’m sure he’s fine,” Kari said, attempting one more roundhouse kick. “All right, that’s it for me! Kasi, we’re outta here!”

  Chapter 2

  Kari

  “I’ll tell you one thing,” Kari told her sister as she put her sweaty clothes in her gym bag and checked her appearance in the locker room mirror. “Working out like this sure makes me hungry. I can’t wait to get home for dinner!”

  Kasi nodded, smoothing her ponytail and throwing her gym towel into her locker. “My pesto rigatoni with turkey meatballs never sounded so good!”

  “I really hope you’re planning to make that garlic bread,” Kari said, grabbing her bag. “I could probably put away a whole loaf.”

  “Well, I was going to make a salad instead,” Kasi told her. “You kno
w that too many carbs isn’t good for you, right?”

  Kari raised an eyebrow. When was the last time her sister worried about something like carbs? Both of the girls had been blessed with their mother’s metabolism and had never really had to worry about their weight. They also had both inherited their father’s love for good food. They often joked that Nancy and Aaron Sweet’s genetics were a match made in heaven.

  Some of her favorite childhood memories revolved around helping her dad in the kitchen, Kasi by her side. Aaron had taught them to make the perfect meatloaf, the juiciest grilled chicken, and the most scrumptious sweet potato pie.

  While he was the cook in the family, their mother was the designated baker. Her scones were legendary and had won dozens of awards at the Mills Township baking contests over the years. Whenever the sisters had friends over from school, they could always expect a delicious meal and a to-go bag of Nancy Sweet’s caramel chip scones or blueberry walnut muffins.

  Food was not just something needed to survive for the Sweet family. It was all about connection, love, and enjoying the little things in life.

  All of this must have shown on Kari face, because when her sister saw her expression, she laughed and said, “Okay, okay. I’ll make the garlic bread and the salad.”

  “Now there’s the sister I know and love!” Kari could almost taste the creamy pesto sauce and crunchy garlic bread. She wondered if they still had the block of parmesan in the fridge. Grating that over the whole meal would be the icing on the cake.

  “Bruce?”

  The girls both looked toward the door when they heard the woman’s voice call out their coach’s name. There was something that didn’t sound right in her voice. They walked out of the locker room and nearly ran into Becky, who was looking around, a worried expression on her face.

  “What’s up?” Kasi asked her.

  “Have you seen Bruce?” Becky asked. “I’ve been calling for him, but he isn’t answering. He wouldn’t leave the gym without locking up first. He’s really good about that.”

  “I saw him go into his office,” Kari told her, fear starting to blossom in her stomach. “But I haven’t seen him since then. Kasi and I were both in the locker room, so we wouldn’t have seen him if he left.”

  “Thanks, I’ll check there,” Becky said, walking to Bruce’s office in the corner.

  Kasi looked at her sister, her brow furrowed. “You…don’t think something happened to him, do you?”

  Though she wanted to comfort her sister, Kari couldn’t deny that she was feeling the same thing. Though Bruce had been his normal energetic self during their workout, there was off about him as he had walked to his office earlier. At this point, Kari knew that when she had a gut feeling about something, it was usually right—especially when it came to possible danger.

  “I hope not, Kas,” she told her sister. “Maybe he just laid down to take a nap? You know he has that little futon in there for when one of his students overdoes it and need to take a break.”

  Kasi nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, and he didn’t look too great when he went in there. Maybe he just has a little stomach bug or something? I’ve heard there’s been something going around.”

  “You think Becky was the best person to go looking for him?” Kari asked.

  Kasi looked surprised. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Bruce seems to avoid her whenever he can,” Kari pointed out. “If he sees her coming, he might hide out under his desk just so he doesn’t have to deal with her flirting!”

  Kari had watched Becky’s advances for weeks and had always found them more amusing than concerning. Bruce seemed to be the type who had no interest in a relationship, and she couldn’t recall ever seeing him with a woman. That hadn’t stopped Becky, though. Kari had often wondered if she had any interest in self-defense or if she only took the classes to get close to the eligible bachelor.

  Kasi giggled. “You’re right. Why don’t we go save him? It would be the courteous thing to do.”

  The sisters hurried to the office, expecting to see Bruce backed into a corner by the amorous beauty shop owner. Unfortunately, what they saw instead was their worst nightmare.

  Bruce was sprawled on the floor, his eyes closed and his mouth slack. Becky was crouched next to him, her fingers on his neck, clearly checking for a pulse.

  “What happened?” Kasi yelped, hurrying over to them.

  Becky looked up; her face shocked. “I found him like this. I can’t find a pulse! Oh my god, I think he’s dead!”

  Kari watched as her sister gently moved Becky’s hand and check for a pulse first on the coach’s neck, then on his wrist. She looked up at her sister and slowly shook her head.

  Oh my gosh, no, Kari thought, feeling as if she was trapped in a very bad dream. Another death. We’re dealing with another death and once again, Kasi and I are right in the middle of it.

  Chapter 3

  Hunter

  “Fancy seeing you two here,” Hunter told Kari and Kasi as he stepped into Fight Lab amid an army of medics and other officers. He’d gotten the call from Kari and, for reasons he didn’t really want to contemplate, wasn’t entirely surprised when she breathlessly announced they were in the company of yet another dead body.

  Kari gave him a look that was half smile, half grimace. “It’s starting to be an unsettling pattern, isn’t it?”

  Hunter gave her a comforting hug before turning to Kasi and doing the same. “First things first. Are you two okay?”

  “Yes,” Kasi answered. “But Bruce definitely is not.” She nodded her head in the direction of his office. “He was found by another student, Becky Banks.”

  “We thought he looked like he had some stomach pains when he walked into his office about fifteen minutes before he was found,” Kari told him. “But we didn’t figure it was anything serious.”

  “Okay,” Hunter said, holding up his hands to stop them. “I’m not doing the official interview yet, so keep those details to yourself for now. We’ll ask all about them later. Now I need to see Bruce. The body.” He shook his head. “You know what I mean.”

  Kasi hung her head. “I just can’t believe this. It seems like everyone I start to get close to ends up dead.” She raised her face and the look in her eyes nearly broke Hunter’s heart. “You don’t believe in the curse, do you, Hunter?”

  “Curse?” Hunter asked. What in the world was she talking about?

  “We’ll talk about it later,” Kari told him, putting an arm around her sister’s shoulders. She said a few low words to her sister, which seemed to make Kasi feel a little better.

  Comforted to see that Kasi was being well taken care of, Hunter headed toward the office.

  After taking a look at the body and confirming that Bruce was indeed dead, he pulled Becky aside. “All right, I’m going to have to ask you few questions, okay?”

  Becky, a blonde woman in her early forties who would have been pretty if it weren’t for the excess of makeup she was wearing, nodded shakily. Who wears that much makeup to a gym? He wondered, but then reminded himself that he didn’t really know that much about women’s habits. Maybe that was the norm these days, though Kari and Kasi certainly hadn’t been made up. In fact, Kari hadn’t had a speck of makeup on. That didn’t make her one bit less beautiful, though.

  “Can you tell me the circumstances leading up to finding…the body?” He asked Becky after guiding her to sit on the futon in the office. Bruce’s body had been removed on a stretcher, but he noticed that she kept glancing nervously at the place where he’d recently been.

  “You mean Bruce?” Becky asked, her eyes filling with tears.

  “Yes, yes of course. Bruce.” Ugh, why can I never get that line between professionalism and empathy right? It was definitely one of the hardest parts of being an officer—especially an officer who seemed to be specializing in finding corpses lately.

  “Well, I was getting ready to leave for the day and I wanted to ask Bruce about class next week.” Becky gla
nced from the floor to Hunter, then out the window. She seemed agitated, but that was pretty normal for someone who had just found a dead body.

  “What did you want to ask him?” Hunter asked, pulling out his notebook and pen.

  “Oh, just if we could work on my calves.” Becky looked down at her legs with a disheartened look.

  “Your calves?” Hunter questioned.

  “Yeah. I think they’ve been looking a little saggy lately and I had plans to go out in a few weeks and I wanted to wear my nice dress. I didn’t want to wear hose or tights because I have these great open-toes heels I’ve been dying to wear.” She looked at Hunter and gave him a weak smile. “I was hoping there was something we could do to firm them up quickly.”