Luna’s words came to mind about me solving the murder, but she had to be wrong. I hardly even knew Neil Howard.
The door jingled, and we all looked that way. The detective, Logan White, stepped inside.
I stood, wiping my hands on my jeans. Looking at his expensive suit, I suddenly felt under-dressed in my pumpkin orange sweater. It didn’t look good with my hair, but I loved the color so I wore it anyway.
“A word, Ms. O’Shea?”
“Told you,” Richie muttered under his breath.
I wove my way through the tables, heading back toward the counter.
“In private,” Logan added.
I gave him a suspicious look, but I wasn’t about to argue with a detective. “We can go back to the office.” I looked to Richie. “Keep an eye on the counter, would you?”
He nodded, his eyes glittering with excitement.
What I referred to as an office was actually a maintenance closet just big enough to fit a small desk and two chairs. Once we were closed inside, I regretted the decision to bring him back. It was way too quiet. Awkward.
We both sat, and I laced my fingers on top of the desk and tried to look professional. “What can I help you with, detective?”
He leaned back in the small plastic chair. “How well did you know Neil Howard?”
I felt my shoulders hunching, and forced them to straighten. I tucked a loose curl behind my ear “Not well at all. I don’t think I even spoke to him more than a handful of times. He never came into the cafe.”
So this is what it means to have a good cop face, I thought as Logan watched me. I had no idea what he was thinking, or trying to imply.
He pulled a plastic bag out of his blazer pocket, then slid it across the desk. There was a piece of paper inside. “Is that your handwriting?”
I looked down at the paper, then lifted my brows. “No, but that’s my phone number.”
“Yes,” he said, “the same number you left with the officer after finding the body. We found that piece of paper in Neil’s back pocket. Any idea what it was doing there?”
I gave him wide eyes. “I have absolutely no idea, detective.”
“When was the last time you spoke to Mr. Howard?”
I furrowed my brow as the first hint of anger stiffened my spine. “What exactly are you trying to imply?”
He leaned forward. “You found the body. You claimed to barely know him, yet he had your phone number in his pocket. Seems a little strange.”
I tilted my head with a smile. “Well now, if we were close, as you’re implying, I don’t see why he’d need to have my phone number written down. Wouldn’t he have it memorized?”
The corner of his lip ticked up. “Do you always walk home an hour after closing time?”
I refused to let my smile fall. He had obviously done his research on me. “My regulars like to stay late. Richie and Sophie left here at the same time I did last night. You can march right on out and ask them if you don’t believe me.”
His laughter transformed his face from handsome, intimidating model, to just a regular guy. “You’ve made your point, Ms. O’Shea. But you should know, you are currently our only lead.”
“Call me Addy, and if that’s the case, you must not be very good at your job.”
He laughed again. He might be accusing me of murder, but at least he had a sense of humor.
He stood, then withdrew a card from his coat pocket and slid it across the desk. “Call me if you think of anything, Addy, and don’t leave town.”
I waited inside my office after he left. Once the door was shut, I buried my face in my hands. Last night, when Luna said that I would be solving the case, I couldn’t imagine a reason why.
Now, being the prime suspect was a pretty good reason.
Chapter Four
I avoided everyone’s questions for the rest of the morning. I most certainly did not need it spread around that I was the sole suspect in a murder investigation. At noon Evie Taylor, my only employee, came in for her shift, her eight year old daughter in tow.
Evie’s kinky curls frothed around her trim jaw, barely skimming the shoulders of her emerald green blouse, which contrasted nicely with her rich brown skin. She smiled after her daughter, Sedona, as she ran for the bookshelves.
“Long day?” Evie asked as she approached the counter.
I wrinkled my nose. “Do I look that bad?”
“You look that stressed. I heard about Neil.”
I glanced past her to the few customers, but none were paying attention. The regulars had long since departed, leaving me in peace. I was saved from further explanation as Spooky came around the corner and looked up at Evie.
“Who is this?” she asked, kneeling down to pet the cat.
I leaned across the counter. “That’s Spooky. I was hoping you could watch over things here so I can take him to the vet.”
Finished petting Spooky, she stood and wiped her hand on her pants. “Maybe a trip to the groomer is in order too. I have things covered here. Marcus will be by to pick up Sedona at two.”
I grabbed my purse from behind the counter and swung it over my shoulder. “You’re the best. If anyone asks you about the murder, just say you don’t know anything.”
She lifted a brow. “Addy, I don’t know anything.”
I walked around the counter and scooped up Spooky. “I’ll fill you in on the details later. If a handsome detective happens to come in, tell him I said to screw off.”
Evie’s eyes widened. “Do you really want me to do that?”
I sighed. “No, but maybe punish him with decaf if he tries to order a coffee.”
I waved to Evie and the few customers, then headed out the door and started walking.
A new vet clinic had opened on the other side of town the previous year, but I hadn’t had a reason to stop in since I didn’t have a pet until now. I had seen the vet around town a few times, but it didn’t seem he was a coffee or tea drinker. Or else he went somewhere else.
I glanced at the clouds overhead, threatening rain, and debated walking home to get my car, but thought better of it. When you lived your entire life in Washington state, you learned to not worry about a little bit of rain.
I looked down at Spooky in my arms. “If I set you down, will you follow me?”
“Meow.”
I took a chance and set the cat down. The only roads through town had a speed limit of twenty-five miles per hour, we should be all right for now, though I’d probably need to pick up a carrier eventually.
Spooky twined around my ankles, then stuck close as I started walking. A few people glanced my way as we walked, but I paid them little mind. I was used to the glancing, and most likely no one was surprised that the red-haired witch now had a black cat.
I tipped an imaginary hat toward Maura Wimbledon, the old librarian, as she walked past us in the other direction. “You just let me know when you want another order of pastries,” she called after me.
“Thanks, Maura,” I said with a wave, trying not to be humiliated.
I’d been running the cafe for three years now, you’d think I would have learned to bake, but everything I made turned out awful. I couldn’t seem to put the same magic into my food that I did into my coffee and tea.
Eventually we reached the vet’s office, and I stood out on the sidewalk, realizing I probably should have made an appointment. Spooky sat next to my left boot, staring at the door with me.
“Are you going inside, are you just trying to open the door with your mind?” a voice said from behind me.
I turned to find the veterinarian himself, minus his white lab coat, smiling down at me. I guessed he was around 5’11”. His light brown hair was cut into one of those tousled styles that looked effortless, but probably took all morning. Though his easy smile and no fuss flannel and jeans almost made me reconsider the hair. Maybe it did just look that good naturally. I placed him around his late thirties, maybe just a year or two older than me.
“Well I walked all the way down here, then I realized I hadn’t made an appointment.”
He laughed. “You’re in luck, I just finished up my lunch break a little early and my next appointment isn’t until one.”
I smiled back, then scooped Spooky up from the sidewalk. “And here I was starting to think that this cat was unlucky.”
We headed toward the door, and the vet held it open for me.
I took a quick look around inside. It was a small space, but how much space did you really need in such a small town? There was a receptionist desk with a little card that said out to lunch.
He grabbed his white coat from a hook on the wall. “You can head on back, Ms . . .” he hesitated.
“Call me Addy.” I walked in the direction he pointed down the only hall.
“First room, Addy, and I’m Max by the way. I’ll just grab your paperwork real quick.”
Max the vet retrieved a clipboard, then followed me back. He had me set Spooky on the table so he could look him over while I filled out the paperwork. I told him he was a stray, but I intended to keep him.
“Well,” Max said, “he seems healthy. I can give him his vaccinations and he should be good to go.” He pet Spooky, who obliged by rubbing his face against his hand.
Max left us alone to fetch the vaccinations, and I did some light snooping while he was gone. A framed degree on the wall told me his last name, Howard. It was a common last name, but might he be related to Neil?
He returned and gave Spooky his shots. The cat wailed like a banshee, then hissed at Max when he tried to come near him again.
Max stepped back, hands raised in surrender. “All right, we’re done. Calm down.” He looked up to me. “We can settle your tab at the front. I’ll let you carry the cat.”
Grinning, I picked up Spooky. It seemed the blame for the needles went all on Max.
I followed Max through the doorway with the cat across my arm as I tried to figure out how to ask him about Neil.
The price he gave me at the front desk seemed a little low, but I wasn’t about to argue. He looked over the paperwork I had filled out, typing my information into the computer. A moment later, the printer came to life, spitting out Spooky’s new vaccination records.
Max took another glance at the paperwork, then looked up to me with the clipboard in one hand. “You wouldn’t happen to be the Adelaide who found Neil, would you?”
My eyes widened. Spooky struggled until I put him down on the ground. “Honestly, I was just about to ask if you knew him. I saw your last name on your degree.”
“He was my cousin,” he explained. “We weren’t close.” He shrugged. “But I’d still kind of like to know what happened to him.”
“Understandable,” I said, handing him my credit card. “But I don’t know what I can tell you that you don’t already know. I found the body, but as of yet the police don’t have any meaningful suspects.” It wasn’t quite a lie. I wasn’t a meaningful suspect.
Seeing as the cute vet was my only lead, I continued, “Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Neil?”
He gave me a sad smile as he handed me back my card, receipt, and vaccination certificate. “Plenty of folk, unfortunately. He was recently separated from his wife, and according to her he owed a few people money.”
I was glad I asked. The wife seemed like a good place to start.
“Well Max,” I held out my hand. “It was a pleasure doing business with you. If you ever find yourself in need of a tea or coffee, come by the Toasty Bean.”
His smile was wide enough that I thought he might be flirting with me. “I’ll do that, Addy. I’ll see you around.”
I picked up Spooky, then left with a wave. First, I needed to take Spooky to the groomer and get back to the cafe. After that, I’d figure out where Neil’s estranged wife could be found, and in the morning I’d pay her a visit.
I smiled down at Spooky as we walked. “I guess we’re detectives now, my friend. Let’s see if we can’t drum us up a murderer.”
Chapter Five
It was dark by the time I left the cafe, clutching a freshly laundered Spooky to my chest like a security blanket. All was quiet as we hit Mueller Street.
“As long as I don’t find another dead body, I’ll be good,” I muttered.
I had a bag looped over one elbow with more cat food and ingredients for cat treats. I didn’t really want to try making the cat treats, but one of my customers had insisted the recipe was fool proof, and I was simply a bad cat mom if I didn’t try it.
I would most certainly not be a bad cat mom, so I guess I had to bake the treats.
Wind scented with dying leaves gusted, blowing my curly hair back from my face and sending goosebumps up my arms beneath my sweater and coat. I had never been afraid of walking home at night, but knowing there was a murderer lurking about had me on edge.
A prickle of magic crept up my spine. It was the type of sensation like recognizing an old, nostalgic scent that you can’t quite place. It was overwhelming and you knew it was important, but that was it.
I stopped walking, glancing around the dark street. Most of the homes had lights on inside. If I needed help, I could always run and knock on someone’s door.
“Meow?” Spooky questioned.
I gave him a light squeeze. “Nothing, it’s nothing.”
Shaking my head at my own foolishness, I started walking again. Soon we’d be back home, safe behind a locked door, or so I kept telling myself as I hurried along.
We were almost halfway home when Spooky started hissing and spitting. He let out a low, threatening wail.
I stopped walking and looked down at him in my arms, worried that he’d somehow gotten hurt, but his eyes were trained on the narrow alleyway to my right.
I looked that way, but couldn’t see much in the darkness.
Run, a voice shot through my mind.
I didn’t question where the voice came from. I could sense that weird prickling magic again. I ran like my life depended on it, and maybe it did.
I reached my front door huffing and puffing, fumbling the keys out of my coat pocket. I must have glanced over my shoulder twenty times before getting it unlocked. We hurried inside and I let Spooky down to the floor so I could slam the door shut and lock it.
I flipped on the light switch next to me, then braced my back against the door, panting.
Spooky sat on the wood floor in front of me, looking up. I glanced over my white couch, matching chairs, and small TV.
I laughed. “Well that was ridiculous. I never even heard footsteps. It’s not like someone was chasing us.”
Spooky watched me for a moment, then turned and walked toward the kitchen.
“Yeah, I’m hungry too,” I agreed.
My cell phone rang in my pocket as I headed toward the kitchen. I switched my bag of cat goods to the other arm and answered it.
“Are you safe?” Luna’s voice came through the other end.
I set my shopping bag on the kitchen counter. “Of course I’m safe, why wouldn’t I be?”
“I had a vision of someone or something chasing you. It was too dark. I couldn’t see what it was.”
My mouth went dry. “Well that’s unsettling.” I told her about my frantic run home.
“I am out at mom’s, but I’m going to send Callie over to stay with you.”
I scowled. “I don’t need my younger sister to protect me. I am safe at home behind locked doors.”
“I have a feeling whatever this thing is, it doesn’t care about locked doors. I’m calling Callie.”
Her words made me shiver. I looked across the kitchen to the dark window glass. “Okay, send her over. But next time you get a vision, try to make it a little more clear.”
We hung up. I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter in my small kitchen as I looked down at Spooky. “Did you sense something out there? Is that why you started hissing?”
Spooky blinked amber eyes at me.
“Yo
u’re probably just hungry,” I sighed.
I opened a can for him, removed my coat, then set to making the treats. I’d wait on my own dinner until Callie arrived, just in case she was hungry too.
The recipe wasn’t too difficult, and it took my mind off of Luna’s vision. I even shaped the treats into little fish.
Spooky watched me as I put them in the oven.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I said. “Everyone knows I’m a terrible baker.”
The doorbell rang as I shut the oven. I hurried out of the kitchen, taking the time to look through the peephole before unlocking the door. Callie stood outside with takeout bags slung over both arms. She had on a cropped leather jacket, covering most of her tattoos.
I unlocked and opened the door, inviting her inside.
I eyed her takeout bags as she walked past in a cloud of lavender essential oil. “Luna tells you something dark was chasing me and you take the time to stop for takeout?”
She turned to me, flipping her strawberry blonde curls over her shoulder. “She didn’t see any more danger for you, I’m only here as a precaution, so we might as well have food. I’m not expecting you to make anything for me.”
“My cooking is not that bad,” I grumbled as she headed toward the kitchen.
I followed her in, watching her set the bags on the counter before pulling out the little takeout boxes. The smell of cheap, delicious Chinese food filled the kitchen.
Callie glanced over her shoulder at the oven, her light brown eyes skeptical. “Wait, are you actually baking?” She abandoned the takeout, bending her tall, wiry frame to peer through the glass oven door.
“Just some treats for Spooky,” I explained. “One of my customers gave me a recipe.”
She straightened. “And where is the illustrious Spooky? I’d like to meet him before he drops dead from eating your baking.”
As if knowing he’d been summoned, Spooky strutted back into the kitchen, then approached to sniff Callie’s black boots.
She crouched down and stroked a hand down his back. “Ooh, he is spooky. A proper black spooky cat.” Still petting the cat, she looked up to me. “Do you think he’s your familiar? Have you noticed any improvements in your magic?”
Familiar Spirits (Twilight Hollow Witchy Cozy Mysteries Book 1) Page 2
