Benjamin looked out on the vast crowd of customers that had filled the shop space to standing room only, and his mouth dropped. These customers certainly weren’t all Fate Valley residents. The town had been flooded with looky-loos interested in solving the mystery of the missing statue.

People had come from all around to speculate who had taken it. It had made big news out in the city and everyone wanted to know how it happened. Most assumed it was the same people who’d turned over the lion statue at City Hall. Ben didn’t doubt it. The Midwest Mayhem group were nothing but trouble. They’d been in his shop last week and he knew they’d stolen candy. But that didn’t explain how they stole the statue of Ambrose Morgan.

Benjamin helped Tilly in the front of the house, selling out most of his stock. He hadn’t even fully restocked after Valentine’s Day. He wondered what he would do if he had no more candy to sell to this huge crowd of spectators.

When the crowd had finally thinned, he retreated to the kitchen and began mixing a batch of chocolate. There was nothing he loved more than making candy, but under the circumstances it felt a little less satisfying. Someone had taken the statue of Ambrose Morgan, and the continued mystery of its disappearance was beginning to weigh on him. It had happened right in front of the shop, right under everyone’s noses, and nobody had seen anything. No one but Samantha, who happened to be awake at that time of night. And even her account of the situation was vague.

She had told him he she was going to the museum today, and he hoped that she would find out something about Ambrose Morgan that would give her a clue into her own genealogy. As the day wore on, and he made more truffles and taffy and peanut brittle, he began to relax and feel less stressed about the entire situation.

As he was filling chocolate squares with raspberry cream, his phone buzzed on the counter across the kitchen. He took off his rubber gloves and picked up his phone. It was a text from Samantha.

“Back from the museum, getting lunch at the diner. Want to join me?

“Meet you there in 15.”

He grinned, happy that she wanted to meet up for lunch. He finished filling his chocolate squares with raspberry cream and set them on the racks to cool. After washing his hands and taking off his chef coat and apron, he grabbed his coat. He told his assistant he was going for lunch as he passed through the shop. The crowd had thinned substantially, and his presence wasn’t necessary for the lunch hour. He hurried out the front door and across the square, with the empty statue platform looming above him. He shook his head and made his way to Fate Valley Diner.

Inside, the warm air thawed his chilled face and the smell of bacon and burgers filled his nose. He took a deep breath and his stomach grumbled. He had missed breakfast in the rush of customers, and he was starving.

He saw Samantha sitting in a booth and hurried down the aisle to slide into the seat across from her.

“We had a heck of a day at the shop,” he said, peeling out of his bomber jacket. He set it on the booth beside him and folded his hands on the table.

“The museum was absolutely packed with tourists.”

“Everyone wants to know what happened to the statue,” Benjamin said.

“It seems like Fate Valley has doubled in population over the last few days.”

“That’s what it’s like here in the summer. But rarely in the winter months.”

“With all the people at the museum, I wasn’t able to ask as many questions as I wanted to.”

“It’s been the same thing in the shop. I had to make emergency batches of candy.”

“That’s a phrase you don’t hear every day,” she chuckled.

“What are you talking about? Everyone needs emergency candy.”

They both laughed, and Debbie came and poured him a cup of coffee.

“Benjamin. It’s so good to see you,” Debbie said. “How are things working out with your mate here? What can I get you kids for lunch?”

“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a strawberry milkshake,” Samantha said.

“I’ll have exactly the same thing,” Benjamin said.

Debbie wrote everything down on her pad and winked at them. “Coming right up.”

Debbie hurried off to place the order and Samantha sipped her coffee across the table.

He sipped his coffee and glanced out the window at the statue platform. It seemed so ominous now. When it had been first installed, he never would have thought it would be a frightening sight. Now it represented something mysterious and strange.

“There’s something I wanted to ask you about,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“When I was at the museum, the tour guide mentioned that there was a village here before the lake was flooded. He didn’t know much about the settlers. I am just curious how they felt about having to move.”

“I don’t really know. I’ve never heard anything about that.”

Debbie came back with their milkshakes and Samantha tapped her straw and slid it into a creamy shake, taking a sip.

“This is delicious,” she said.

“I love their shakes.”

“I’m wondering if the descendants of the original settlers might still be angry about the lake flooding. Maybe they had something to do with the statue going missing.”

“Most people think it was a prank by Midwest Mayhem,” Benjamin mused. “They’ve been causing a lot of trouble around town lately.”

“They’re the ones who turned over the lion statue in front of City Hall, right?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah. They seem to thrive on mayhem. I’ve heard they even have a website dedicated to it.”

Benjamin tabbed over to the site on his phone. He scrolled through the first page. His eyes popped out of his head when he looked at it.

“The headline says, ‘What happened to the statue of Fate Valley’s evil founder?’”

“Evil founder?” Samantha asked.

“That’s what it says.”

Benjamin read aloud to Samantha, “As much as we at Midwest Mayhem would like to claim responsibility for this genius prank, we are afraid we do not have the resources to move a statue like that.”

“Do you think it’s a lie?” she asked.

“This group tends to take responsibility for acts like this. I can’t see why they wouldn’t do it this time.”

“Because it’s different than turning a small statue upside down or painting no parking curbs pink.”

“That’s true,” he said.

“I can’t imagine what the fines would be for stealing a statue like that.”

“The Fate Valley Wives’ Club spent months collecting donations to have the statue built. The entire town got involved in it.”

Debbie returned with their hamburgers and they both dug into their meals.

“I should get an interview with the Fate Valley Wives’ Club. They may be able to give me some insight into Ambrose Morgan, since they were the ones who raised the funds for the statue in the first place.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I need a contact for them,” she said, picking up her phone. She started to search for information on the club. “I see the chairwoman of the club is named Becky Black.”

“Yes, I know of her.” Benjamin said. “I’m sure she’d love to give you an interview.”

Thinking about Becky Black and the predatory women at the Fate Valley Wives’ Club, Ben wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and kiss his sweet Samantha. Instead, he reached over and wiped a smudge of ketchup off the side of her mouth. She blinked at him in surprise.

“You had a little ketchup there,” he said. The spark of connection was evident even in that casual touch. A blush rose in her cheeks.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Would you like some dessert?” Ben asked.

“Dessert?”

“I’d love to show you the candy shop.”

“Oh, that sounds amazing.”

They finish their burgers and Benjamin left a big tip for Debbie. They waved to her on the way out of the diner. Samantha threaded her arm through Ben’s like she had on their date the night before. Benjamin led Samantha over to the candy shop. He wanted her to sample every one of his sweet treats and see her eyes light up when she tasted the delicious goodies he made.

“Wow, this place is amazing,” she said, when they walked inside. “You know I can't resist candy.”

“Well you've come to the right place,” he said.

He started to take pieces of candy down from the shelves, placing them on a tray for her to sample. Chocolate pralines, toffee, salt water taffy, chocolates of every kind, peanut brittle, caramel popcorn, white-chocolate dipped pretzels, pecan divinity, malt balls, peanut butter honey bites, gummy bears, white chocolate cashew bars, licorice, jelly beans, and peanut butter fudge, lollipops, rock candy, and sweethearts left over from Valentine's Day. They took the tray and sat at the café table in the corner of the shop. Samantha's eyes popped wide at the sight of all the treats.

“I get to sample all of this?” she asked.

“Please, be my guest.”

She picked up a chocolate square and took a bite. The creamy filling stuck to her lip.

“Oh my God, this is so delicious.”

“You haven't tasted anything yet. Taste this fudge-filled chocolate,” he said. “And this chocolate-covered cookie. And these jellybeans.”

Samantha shoveled candy into her mouth, her eyes rolling back in her head with pleasure.

“I can't stand it. I'm going to explode from a sugar rush,” she giggled.

“That just means you need a cup of hot chocolate to go with it.”

He took the tray and started toward the kitchen, just when Tilly walked out.

“Samantha, this is my assistant Tilly.”

“I'm so glad to meet you. Ben has been waiting for his mate for so long. It's a relief he finally found someone.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Samantha said.

They took the sample tray into the kitchen. Ben pulled a pan out and put it on the gas burning stove. He filled the pan with milk and began to slowly heat it as he added the chocolate, spices, and sugar. A moment later, he poured her hot chocolate into a mug with a dollop of whipped cream. He made one for himself and watched her as she took a sip. She groaned at the flavor and whipped cream stuck to her upper lip.

“This is so good. Every new thing I taste is better than the last.”

“Here, try this strawberry-flavored lollipop.”

She giggled with excitement as she peeled off the wrapper and popped the lollipop into her mouth.

“You are spoiling me.”

“That's what I'm here for.”

He took a sip of hot chocolate, taking pleasure in watching her smile grow brighter with each bite of his candy.

“This caramel popcorn is to die for,” she said. “I think it's the best mix with the hot chocolate. Or maybe this chocolate-covered mint cookie. I can't decide.”

Tilly popped her head through the kitchen door and told Ben there was someone here to see him.

“Who is it?”

“You need to come and see for yourself.”

Ben walked out into the shop with Samantha right behind him, several lollipops and a box of chocolates in her hands.

“Benjamin Darling?” a man in the business suit asked.

“That's me.”

“My name is Walter P. Hart, owner of Hart’s Real Estate Development. I’m in the neighborhood, and I just wanted to leave you my card. If you're ever interested in selling your business, I can give you a good price.”

Ben took the card and stared down at it. “This business has been in my family for generations. I don't think I'll be selling anytime soon.” He smelled the air. The man's cologne was so overpowering, it made him sick to his stomach.

“Well, just in case anything changes, you have my number.”

The man walked out of the shop and Ben threw the card in the garbage can.

“There's no way I'm ever selling this business.”

“You definitely shouldn't sell it,” Samantha said, popping another chocolate into her mouth. “This is the best candy I've ever eaten.”

“Maybe you should pace yourself,” Tilly said with a laugh. “You don't want to die of a sugar overdose.”

“It would definitely be a good way to go,” Samantha said.