Death by Coffee

by Alex Erickson

I headed to the bathroom and ran myself a nice hot bath. It would wash away the rest of the stress, I hoped. I sank down into the bubble-free water and closed my eyes. Misfit jumped up and began drinking the bathwater like he always did. He would, of course, drink too much and gack all over the floor afterward. Right then, however, the sound of his lapping soothed me.

  Brendon Lawyer might be dead, but I was still alive. It was time I put this whole thing behind me, like everyone kept telling me to do. I needed to get back to living my own life.

  I just hoped that that life didn’t end up getting me killed.

  22

  I felt energized and ready to face the world the next morning. I sprang right out of bed, got showered, dressed, and ate breakfast, all while humming to myself. I even shared a few bits of my bacon with Misfit, who gobbled up the pieces without leaving a mess.

  Vicki appeared surprised to see me when I arrived at work an hour later. She was busy getting the cookies baked for the morning, something that was supposed to be my job, but I had slacked off doing it lately.

  “Are you sure?” she asked when I took the mix from her.

  “Positive,” I said. And I meant it.

  I was done with the murder investigation. At some point during the night, I realized I was just making my life harder than it needed to be. I couldn’t keep running around, chasing after every little lead in the hopes it would bring me closer to the killer. I mean, I was just a little store owner. I wasn’t a private investigator. I should leave that sort of thing to the professionals.

  Vicki and I finished with the morning prep in record time and had ten minutes to lean against the counter and chat before we opened. Trouble was sitting on the counter—something I’d have to remedy before we opened the doors—and was purring contentedly as Vicki stroked his long black fur. Tufts floated to the floor to be swept up later.

  “I think we should paint the place,” I said, looking at the walls. They were the same off-white they’d been when we’d bought the building. “I’m thinking a cream color, something that might remind people of the foam on a really good cappuccino. It could make them thirsty enough to buy something.”

  “Maybe.” Vicki sounded skeptical as she eyed me. “So you’re really done?” she asked. “With all of this crime stuff, I mean?”

  “I am. I feel like an idiot for how I’ve been acting. I should have been here helping you this entire time.”

  She shook her head sadly. “I don’t think it would have mattered.”

  The tone of her voice caused me some alarm. Vicki looked defeated in a way I wasn’t used to seeing from her. She was normally unshakably positive about everything, and yet here she was, looking as glum as could be.

  “It’ll work out,” I said. “We just have to give it some more time.”

  “I suppose.” She sighed. “But how much time do we have before we’re forced to close?”

  I looked toward the locked glass door. No one was lining up to be the first to sample the day’s coffee. People walked past on the way to work—yet no one seemed interested in a morning shot of caffeine.

  Then again, they’d probably already been to J&E’s Banyon Tree. By now, half the town already knew more about me than I did myself, thanks to Judith and her spy next door. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if she gave out a little piece of juicy “Krissy gossip” with every coffee purchase.

  “It’ll work out,” I said again, not really feeling it. I joined her in sighing. “I thought I was supposed to be the pessimistic one here?”

  Vicki laughed. “You are. I’m just trying to be a realist this time. We have a buffer, so it isn’t like we’re going to close down next week, but I’ve seen no signs of things ever picking up. It’s been a lot slower than I anticipated, and I don’t know what we could possibly do to make things better.”

  I could have kept trying to reassure her, but what was the point? I should have been here, trying my best to get people to come in, not chasing after would-be killers. This was my job, my life. I needed to focus on that.

  I straightened. “We’ll just have to come up with something that will bring more people in.”

  “And what would that be?” Vicki asked as she scooped Trouble off the counter and carried him up toward the bookstore, where he’d hopefully spend the rest of the day. “It’s not like we can go door-to-door.”

  For an instant I was tempted. I could carry a stack of cups with me, take a pot of coffee, and hit up every business on the block. I was sure I could lure a few customers that way; and if they came in, maybe their friends and families would too.

  But if I did that, I’d be coming face-to-face with people I was trying to avoid. There was no way I was going to let that happen—not today at least.

  “I’ll think of something,” I said, moving toward the door. It was time to open.

  The only thing that rushed through the door when I opened it was a warm breeze. I soaked it in for a few moments before returning to my place behind the counter. My morning coffee was down to the cookie and I munched on it contentedly as I waited. I tried hard not to let the imminent doom of Death by Coffee affect me.

  The morning went as expected. A few customers came in, drank some coffee, and then left. Vicki managed to sell two books to an older woman who seemed to be becoming a regular, though I still didn’t know her name. Where was Rita when you needed her?

  Then, as if by magic, she appeared.

  And she wasn’t alone.

  “Oh, hello, hello, hello!” Rita said, waving her arm at me. The flap of skin seemed especially jubilant this morning. “I missed you yesterday. We all did!”

  Nearly the entire writers’ group poured through the doors; only Patricia Dalton was missing. It was the most people I’d seen in the place since Brendon Lawyer had died. Had that really only happened a few days ago?

  Rita came up to the counter, the rest of the group behind her like some sort of preschool class. They chittered and whispered among themselves, looking around like kids at a zoo. Only Lena met my eye. She gave me a wink, rolled her eyes, and then went to stand beside the silent Adam, who appeared asleep on his feet.

  “I thought we could have something of an impromptu meeting here,” Rita said, pressing against the counter. “It’ll be fun, don’t you think?”

  “I wish I could join you, but I’m working,” I said, indicating the apron around my neck. I glanced at Vicki for help. She smiled at me from her spot at the bookstore, Trouble in her arms. I think the cat was grinning at me.

  “Oh, pah!” Rita waved her arm at me. “I know that! I wasn’t implying you should abandon your job just so you could join us.” She giggled in a way that made my eyes water. “We’ll just get some coffee, find a seat, and have our meeting without you.”

  I plastered on a smile. While Rita was annoying me to no end, she was going to buy something. I couldn’t turn away a customer, especially one who was quickly becoming a regular.

  “What can I get you?” I asked in my best working-girl voice.

  Rita, of course, got her usual plain black coffee and Lena her red eye. Adam asked for water, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. He might actually open his eyes and wake up if he were to jolt his system with caffeine.

  “Do you have a French roast?” Andi asked. Georgina nodded behind her as if it was the most important question in the world.

  “Of course,” I said with a smile. “Would you each like one?”

  “Oh no,” Andi said. “I’d like an iced latte. I was just asking for a friend.”

  “Me too,” Georgina said, which oddly caused Andi to giggle.

  I wandered away to get their drinks. Those two were a pair of very strange women. I couldn’t imagine one without the other.

  Once they were all served, the group took seats in the back of the store. Thankfully, they kept their voices down, though I could hear the occasional gasp from Andi. It seemed like every little thing shocked that woman.

  Strangely, the longer I stood
there, helping the rare guest, the more I wanted to go over and sit with them. I felt left out, as if the very act of them having a meeting without me shunned me from the group forever. I had to admit, I felt jealous they all were able to sit there during the middle of the day while I had to work.

  Vicki kept mostly to the books. She had more customers than I did, which suited me fine. As long as people were buying something, I was happy, although I would have liked the company.

  Eventually I couldn’t take standing around anymore. I started a fresh pot of coffee and headed out onto the floor with a rag in hand. I could eavesdrop on their meeting while I cleaned off the tables. I was curious to hear what they were talking about, even if it was only bad poetry.

  “Could be,” Rita said. “It just seems so fantastic, doesn’t it?”

  Andi and Georgina readily agreed.

  I glanced over at the table to find Adam apparently asleep and Lena looking as if she was considering joining him. She gave me a bored smile and then stood as Rita went on, though this time in a lower voice, as if she didn’t want me to hear. She kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, telling me she very well might be talking about me.

  “How’s it going?” Lena asked. She leaned against the wall beside the table I was wiping down.

  I shrugged. “It’s going.” I glanced at the others. “Interesting meeting?”

  “Not at all.” She sighed dramatically. “I was told we were going to discuss our writing, but all those women want to do is gossip about the dead guy.”

  My interest pinged.

  No, Krissy! Keep out of it!

  My brain battled with my interest. It wasn’t a surprise as to which one won.

  “What are they saying?” I led Lena away from the others so they wouldn’t hear us talking about them. If they could do it . . . well, then, so could I.

  Lena shrugged and picked at a scab on her elbow. “I don’t know. I checked out pretty early, you know?”

  A part of me felt overjoyed, while another was disappointed. I really shouldn’t be getting involved. I swore to myself I’d keep out of this stuff. Yet, here I was, trying to pry information out of a teenage girl. What was wrong with me? I should just walk away and go about my day like it had never happened.

  “I think one of the mistresses did it,” Lena went on, dragging me right back into it.

  “Really?”

  She started picking at another scab. “I mean, isn’t it always one of the mistresses? I don’t think his wife could have done it. I’ve seen her around. She couldn’t hurt much of anything, let alone that prick of a husband.”

  I nodded, mind turning it over. Hadn’t Tessa seemed like she knew more than she’d let on? Could she have killed Brendon, or at least set it up?

  “I think it’s all a load of bullsh . . . ,” Lena trailed off, and she lowered her eyes. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s a load of crap,” she amended. “The guy died. You shouldn’t go around gossiping about it like it happened on some stupid TV show.”

  “I agree,” I said, doing my best to keep my mind reined in. I really, really didn’t want to get involved.

  “But I do bet someone knows who did it,” Lena said.

  “I mean, wouldn’t they have to? I bet the police will talk to those girls he was sleeping with and they’ll talk. Maybe it was one of their boyfriends and they’ve been trying to protect him or something.”

  Or perhaps it could be the wife’s boyfriend.

  Damn it! There was no way I was going to be able to walk away from this now. My mind was racing as I tried to come up with likely candidates for the man Heidi slept with. No one seemed to fit, but how well did I know anyone in town? Every single man in town could be a likely suspect.

  “Lena?” Rita called. “Are you coming back to the group?” She blinked her eyes rapidly at the girl.

  “I suppose.” Lena gave me an eye roll and then went back to slump in her seat.

  I carried my rag back behind the counter and dropped it onto a shelf without really paying attention to what I was doing. Could Tessa know whom Heidi was sleeping with? She’d made a comment about cheating running in the family. I’d assumed she’d been referring to Mason, or perhaps to Raymond. Could she have meant Heidi? Or perhaps there was some other member of the family I didn’t know about, someone Lawyer Senior had wiped completely from the books, a sort of black sheep.

  There was only one way to find out.

  I didn’t quite slink up the stairs to where Vicki was waiting on a young man buying a graphic novel that looked a little too explicit for his age. Then again, who was I to judge? That was something his parents could deal with.

  As soon as she finished ringing him up, Vicki turned to me. The smile she’d been wearing faltered the moment she saw the apologetic look on my face.

  “You’re going to go, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “I have to.”

  “That murder thing?”

  I nodded.

  Vicki sighed in mock exasperation and then gave me a huge smile. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” she said, and then added, “I knew you wouldn’t be able to put it behind you. It’s just not your style.”

  “Thanks, Vicki.” I gave her a quick hug. “I’ll make this up to you.”

  She pointed a finger at me. “You’d better.”

  I turned and hurried back down the stairs before she could change her mind. I started for the door, and then veered off behind the counter. I filled a to-go cup with the freshly brewed coffee, grabbed a few packs of cream and sugar, and then carried them to the door. A bribe might get Tessa to open up.

  I glanced back at the writers’ group as I opened the door. Rita and her gossip girls barely looked up. Adam, as usual, looked asleep, but Lena was watching me. She gave me a sideways smile and then winked. She mouthed, “Good luck,” before turning back to the group.

  I had a strange feeling she’d known about my fascination with the case and my subsequent refusal to get involved. Had our entire conversation been a way to get me back on track? That girl was a lot smarter than I gave her credit for, if so.

  I turned away and left the shop, mentally noting that from this point on, every red eye that girl wanted would be free.

  23

  An OUT TO LUNCH sign hung on the door to Tessa’s Dresses. I tried the door, anyway, but found it to be locked up tight.

  “Drat,” I said, glancing up and down the sidewalk, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tessa. I couldn’t have missed her by much more than a few minutes. It felt awfully early for lunch. There were a few people out and about, strolling casually up and down the sidewalk, but there was no sign of Tessa.

  I checked my watch and was surprised to see it was just after twelve. Where had the time gone? It felt like only an hour ago that I’d rolled out of bed and had headed to work. I guess time actually does fly by when you are focused on your job, instead of wanting to be somewhere else.

  I figured Tessa wouldn’t be gone for more than a half hour, maybe forty-five minutes at the most. Actually, she might be sitting inside, snacking away on a burrito even now. I tried to peer in through the window, but couldn’t see anything. The store looked dark and empty, as if Tessa hadn’t been there at all.

  The coffee in my hand was still hot and would be for a little longer, but not for thirty more minutes. I scanned the street one last time, but Tessa was nowhere to be seen.

  My eyes fell on a store a little ways down the block. Bright pink lettering scattered with candy and chocolate hung above a door that was decorated like a gingerbread house. The windows were frosted, but I could still read the colorful lettering, even from as far away as I was: PHANTASTIC CANDIES.

  Not wanting to wait around for Tessa, or worse, slink back to Death by Coffee without accomplishing anything, I headed for Jules Phan’s candy store. If nothing else, I could give him the coffee and hope it would add one more customer to our meager regulars.

  As I
entered, the door made a strange crinkling sound that reminded me of a really large piece of candy being unwrapped from plastic. The smell of sugar and sweets was nearly overpowering. My eyes watered and my stomach grumbled at the assault on my nose. I hadn’t craved a piece of chocolate-covered caramel so badly in my life.

  Jules was in the middle of the store, dancing for a little girl whose mom was watching him with just as much adoration as the child. His tap shoes made a pleasing sound on the floor and I found myself wanting to join him, though I’d probably end up tripping over my own two feet and ruining the whole dance. He was wearing one of his bright suits—this one blue—and had on a striped top hat, which would have looked outlandish anywhere else.

  Jules spun, clicked his shoes together, and landed in a crouch in front of the girl, a sucker in his hand. She took it with a giggle.

  The girl’s mother clapped and thanked Jules warmly before leading the girl away. She’d already removed the wrapper and was sucking happily on the sucker as they left the shop.

  “That was wonderful,” I said, approaching.

  “It was nothing,” Jules said with a wide smile. “It’s so good to see you, Krissy.” He removed his hat, wiped the sweat from his brow with a polka-dotted handkerchief, and then replaced his top hat. “What brings you my way today?”

  “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by. I brought you this.” I held out the coffee.

  Jules took it with a grin. “Thank you,” he said. “I was thinking of stopping down there when I got a moment. Always so busy, but you know how that is.”

  Oh, how I wished I did. “Sure,” I said, handing over the creamer and sugar. He took them and set them on the counter beside some taffy.

  As Jules went about adding his condiments to his coffee, I looked around the shop in something akin to wonder. Candy in bins lined every wall all the way to the ceiling. Glass chutes gave the kids a view of the candy as it rolled and tumbled down, once they put in their quarters. Wrapped candies sat in boxes on shelves in the middle of the room. Just looking at all of the candy made my teeth ache.