Charming Blend (A Paramour Bay Cozy Paranormal Mystery Book 5)

by Kennedy Layne

  Leo was certainly on a roll. There was going to come a horrendous time when I would have to limit his catnip intake, but as for right now…he really was coming up with some fantastic motives for arson.

  I credit the catnip. Beetle must buy his stuff on the black market.

  “Beetle, is it possible that someone wanted to burn down your office and home to get rid of some kind of evidence…maybe of some sort of financial corruption?”

  “I did bring my briefcase with me to the tea shop that morning,” Beetle shared, frowning as he thought over the last few days. He tapped his chin. “And I did set it inside the back room.”

  “Did you recently find something wrong in anyone’s accounting? Maybe something off with their books?”

  That’s a HIPAA violation, Raven. He can’t reveal that type of information without a warrant. Are you trying to get this man in more trouble?

  I had to bite my tongue to correct Leo’s mistake. HIPAA was for the medical field, not for financial records. That didn’t mean there wasn’t some law against Beetle disclosing someone else’s business records. I suppose it most likely had to do with business/client confidentiality.

  “I’m saying to think it over,” I advised Beetle, wanting this done the right way. Liam would probably want his Ts crossed and his Is dotted for an arrest. “If you remember anything at all that would indicate embezzlement or something even more serious, you need to go to Liam. I know that he’s been working around the clock to find the guilty party.”

  Does that mean the good ol’ sheriff might not be coming to dinner?

  “I know all of my clients personally, my dear Raven.” Beetle shook his head in remorse before laying his hand over his heart. “It would pain me to believe that someone I’ve known for years would resort to such drastic measures to destroy evidence of a crime. Why hand over their financial records at all? They also could just as easily have altered the books before giving them to me.”

  He has a point. Maybe we should invite him inside the van for a chat.

  I’d become accustomed to Leo’s quips, but that particular one had me so confused that I couldn’t prevent my gaze from swinging his way. He was certainly a sight, with his crooked whiskers this way and that. There must have been a little catnip left over, because there were a few green flakes stuck to his bottom lip.

  The Scooby Doo van, Daphne. Not the mobile library van.

  Wow. Sometimes Leo’s brain went a bit faster than I could handle.

  Keeping up with Leo on some of his more obscure references was like following Dennis Miller on one of his Monday Night Football rants. The juice just wasn’t worth the squeeze at some point.

  “Leo, my good feline, aren’t you looking spry this afternoon? I’d heard that catnip can help with weight control.” Beetle winked my way as if I were in on his little secret. “We’ll have you looking fit as a fiddle in no time at all.”

  The only part of Leo that moved was the end of his tail…you know, the three-inch section that was bent like a hanger. I’d come to know that type of twitch, and he was debating on whether or not to attack or defer.

  Give me a minute to decide.

  “Leo does love the catnip you sneak him every morning,” I said, purposefully reminding Leo that Beetle was technically his weed supplier, for what it was worth. “I read somewhere that catnip is good for their memory, as well.”

  I’ve heard of this kind of love/hate relationship, but I’ve never experienced it before. I don’t think that it is a healthy arrangement.

  Beetle certainly did have a way with backhanded compliments. We were getting way off topic, though.

  “You have a point on the financial records, Beetle.” It didn’t make sense to hand over evidence of a crime, only to then try to destroy it. “Have you upset anyone recently?”

  Why, yes. Yes, he has. I can come up with one most recently.

  Leo would eventually get over the slight insult, most likely tomorrow morning when Beetle came into the tea shop with a new bag of catnip.

  “My dear Raven, I go to great lengths to treat my clients with the utmost respect.” Beetle hadn’t removed his hand from his chest, but he did pat his fingers against his tie and rock back on his somewhat well-worn dress shoes as he contemplated my inquiry. “Always respect. Although, there has been a time or two when I’ve had to give advice my clients didn’t want to hear. Not to the point where they would burn down a town, mind you. No, no, my dear Raven. I do not believe any of my clients would resort to arson.”

  Oh, well. You tried. Let’s park the Mystery Machine and let the good ol’ sheriff handle this one.

  “I’m off to talk to Cora. I still need those receipts for the fourth quarter.” Beetle waved his hand in the air as he spun around and headed for the exit. “Ta-ta!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “LEO, COULD THE council be behind the fires?” I asked, restocking the infuser section of the tea shop. I’d been pondering on my latest theory ever since Beetle had left to go in search of Cora. “I’m not sure what their point might be, other than to cause chaos for a witch who wants nothing to do with the coven.”

  Technically, the coven kicked the Marigolds to the curb a very long time ago. You know, before there was a curb.

  I checked to make sure I’d grabbed the right infuser before setting the box facing outward so the customer could see the merchandise displayed correctly. Wilma and Elsie had made a special trip into town after Wilma had accidentally thrown away her infuser. The two had stayed for quite a while chatting about the events around town, even chalking up Wilma’s odd behavior to an allergic reaction to the new hair dye Candy had used at the salon.

  You’re going to put that poor woman out of business now that she has to order an entirely new brand of hair dyes. Way to support the local economy there, Raven.

  “It’s not like I can fess up to the truth before the entire town,” I replied wryly, for a brief moment thinking that this was a way for the coven to force my hand in returning to Windsor. Could Aunt Rowena be the mastermind behind such a plan? She’d mentioned needing the rest of the Marigolds when it came time for the war between the factions to ensue. “What if Aunt Rowena is the one responsible for stoking the local fires?”

  Your great-aunt isn’t a witch who plays around the burning bush, so to speak. If she wanted to gain your attention, she would have burned down the entire town with you in it.

  Leo did have a point. If Aunt Rowena really needed my help, or even my mother’s assistance, she would have arrived on our doorstep with her broomstick in hand and asked for it. Failing that, she would have ensured we weren’t batting for the other side.

  “It’s so frustrating that I couldn’t find a spell to help with this case,” I muttered, straightening the box on the shelf. “If the council or any member of the coven isn’t behind this, I still think it’s related to Beetle somehow.”

  Leo suddenly gasped, alerting me to the fact that an idea had hit him out of the blue.

  What if it’s because of my catnip? What if it’s magical weed?

  “What are you talking about?” I asked in complete confusion, knowing full well I didn’t want to know how his brain worked. “Leo, the fires around town have nothing to do with your catnip.”

  I told you the stuff is so good that Beetle must have gotten it off the black market. It could be enchanted! What if it’s a type of new cartel that needs to burn the evidence of such a find? I mean, they could mass market that stuff and turn their operation into a legal entity that would control the entire cat population!

  So much for the catnip making him smarter.

  Movement across the street caught my attention, and I smiled when I saw Liam heading toward the intersection with two cups of coffee in hand. Even after four months, the man could still make my heart flutter.

  Perfect timing. You hold the good ol’ sheriff off while I check into this lead. We can’t have the cartel getting rid of Beetle, even if the man does annoy me with those backhanded co
mpliments of his. Hold down the fort, Raven!

  Leo disappeared before Liam made it across the road. Even then, Leo would have had some additional time to skedaddle without being noticed. Somewhere between the intersection and the tea shop, Liam must have stopped to talk to someone. I didn’t want to be rude and poke my head out the door to see who that someone was might be, so I finished replacing my inventory before walking back over to the cash register to file my receipts.

  As for Leo, he was clearly wasting his time. There was no cartel who dealt in catnip, but I did have to wonder if Beetle hadn’t gotten caught up in something more dangerous than keeping the books for the local businesses. I’d brought up a client fudging numbers, but what if Beetle was in on it and blackmailing one of the shop owners?

  I was beginning to sound as loony tunes as Leo, wasn’t I?

  Liam finally passed by the display window, his dark gaze meeting mine through the glass. He lifted one side of his lips, but the lopsided grin didn’t quite meet his eyes.

  “I tried to make it over this morning,” Liam said after entering the shop, careful not to drop either cup. “The day just got away from me.”

  “Did something interesting happen?”

  I hadn’t heard any sirens to indicate that there was a fire. That didn’t mean there hadn’t been another incident. Whenever Liam continued to walk my way upon entering the store, it meant he was here to stay awhile. He did so now, so I pulled the stool a little closer to the counter and settled in for what had become our daily chats.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Raven,” Liam said softly, handing me one of the coffee cups. He’d somehow made the rest of the world fade away when he produced a single rose from the inside of his brown suede jacket. “I hope the events around town aren’t going to interfere with our dinner.”

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Liam.” I could so get used to this warm intimacy I experienced whenever he dropped his voice an octave…which I would have said was impossible. I brought the rose up to my nose and inhaled its sweet fragrance. The touching offer made me want to close the shop now and head for home. “And dinner is still at seven o’clock as originally planned.”

  Liam held up his coffee cup until I clicked my lid with his, both of us taking our first sips of the rich beverage with huge satisfaction.

  “Wilma and Elsie stopped in a bit ago, and they didn’t mention anything,” I shared once we set our cups down on the counter. I continued to hold onto the rose, loving this small gift that told me Liam had thought about me this morning. “After you share the details of your day, I’ll share mine.”

  I couldn’t perform any spell that would give us the answers to the questions we all had, but I could run my ideas past Liam in hopes that I could help with the investigation. Our long-awaited Valentine’s Day was finally here, and I wanted tonight to be perfect.

  “There is a pattern to the fires, and I wanted to talk to the shop owners before drawing any conclusions.” Liam leaned an elbow against the counter as he settled in. I loved this time with him where we just talked about our days and learned more about each other. “As a matter of fact, I just ran into Cora. We’re meeting in around thirty minutes after she has a small powwow with her managers. Roger will have to call in, though. He’s still cooped up with the flu. A lot of the shop owners are having to reprint their financials after they were destroyed by the fire at Beetle’s office.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Had Liam come to the same conclusion as I had in regard to Beetle’s involvement? I twirled the stem of the rose in my fingers before checking to see if there were any thorns. Thankfully, Liam must have had the florist remove them. “What pattern did you discover?”

  Liam regarded me carefully, the way he did every now and then that had me wondering if he saw more than I wanted him to in regard to my family’s secret. A smile slowly formed on his lips that had me breathing a bit easier.

  “Are you applying for the position of deputy? I might have to run that one by Oliver.”

  “I’d make you a great deputy,” I replied with feigned indignation, causing him to laugh out loud. “Wasn’t it me who helped Detective Swanson solve the murder over at the inn?”

  “You mean when the murderer came to your room to try to kill you?” Liam’s brown eyes somehow became even darker at the memory. He shook his head when I started to argue. “I swear Jack almost gave me a heart attack when he called to tell me what had happened in your room. I’m warning you now…any application for a deputy position that comes across my desk with your name on it is being fed into the shredder immediately. You had me worried sick with your antics.”

  It was so sweet to know that Liam had a protective streak a mile long. Regrettably, he had no idea the power I held in the palm of my hand. According to Leo, Liam could never know of my abilities as a witch. I’d broken one of the major rules of the coven once before, and I could do so again—against Leo’s wishes, of course. I just wasn’t so sure Liam would ever view me the same if I did.

  Let’s face it, witchcraft was scary business and not to be bandied about lightly.

  “Liam, I took self-defense classes in the city. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself if need be,” I assured him, deciding now was the time to bring up my theory. “Take for instance this pattern you think you’ve discovered…it involves Beetle, doesn’t it?”

  I could tell from his expression that I was right. Liam had made the same connection, but I still couldn’t understand why Monty’s hardware store had been targeted by the perpetrator unless it was to throw off anyone who made the same connection.

  “Liam, did you know that Beetle had brought his briefcase with him to the tea shop the same morning the fire broke out in the alleyway? I think whoever set the fire thought the flames would either make their way into the storage room or that we’d be forced to vacate, thus giving him or her the freedom to retrieve the briefcase.”

  “I spoke to Beetle at length the day multiple fires broke out around town. I began to put the pieces together after his office was targeted, but it became rather clear when the bakery was hit soon after that.” Liam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he shouldn’t be sharing this information with me. It was technically an ongoing investigation, but it was nice to know that he trusted me with these small details. I didn’t have to tell him I wouldn’t say a word to anyone, because he already knew that in his heart. “Everyone had to vacate the building, including Beetle. Bree had given him a couple of tables in the back of the bakery where he could work in private with a client and not be disturbed, but Chief Mason cleared out every patron from the building first thing when he arrived.”

  “Leaving Beetle’s files on the table open for anyone to see who might sneak back inside the bakery without anyone noticing,” I said, filling in the rest of Liam’s theory. A spark of excitement shot through me that we were on the same page. This was similar to when Leo and I worked together, only this was bit more exciting in terms of this newfound relationship. “I was thinking that maybe a client was doing something fishy with their financial records, but Beetle pointed out they wouldn’t have given him the real books to begin with if they were embezzling or trying to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.”

  “I was thinking along those same lines,” Liam said before taking another drink of his coffee. He rested his elbows on the counter as he leaned down to share his thoughts. “What if the evidence of such a crime was given to Beetle by mistake? What if they handed in the wrong set of books? My only concern is that I personally know every shop owner in Paramour Bay. These are serious allegations, and I need to tread carefully. We’re talking multiple felonies here.”

  “Who do you think it could be?” I asked, having tried to narrow down the suspects. I couldn’t come up with anyone who could be such a horrible person. Well, Cora wasn’t all that nice of a person, but I would never label her as someone who would resort to actual criminal behavior. “I was talking to…Ted about this last n
ight. We tried to come up with suspects, but you’re right about us knowing everyone personally. We couldn’t pinpoint anyone, either.”

  I almost messed up and mentioned Leo. Liam would have definitely thought I was some type of lonely cat woman, not that I would have had a problem with that. Leo beat out a lot of those people in New York City who I would never have called a friend.

  I needed to fib a bit on this next part, but Ted and Leo were almost interchangeable in my life as it was. I loved them both.

  “Ted said something that stuck with me, though.” I fiddled with the rose so that Liam wouldn’t notice my apprehension in misrepresenting the one who mentioned this small detail. “No one ever thinks their neighbor could commit such horrible acts, such as serial killers. The newspapers almost always mention the same old quote about it being the quiet ones.”

  “True,” Liam acknowledged with a tilt of his head. “That’s why I have to remain impartial. I also can’t assume that it has to be a client who is the guilty party. A lot of these shop owners don’t handle the day to day operations of their shops. Many of them have managers.”

  The bell above the door chimed to signal I had a customer, but a quick look revealed it was Cora.

  Speaking of the devil herself.

  Cora was technically one of those shop owners Liam had just mentioned, and she had one of her managers do the nightly bank deposits, among other such duties. Could it really be that simple?

  Could Roger Aimes be the guilty party?

  I don’t think so, Raven.

  I continued to smile at Liam as he gathered his coffee and bid me goodbye before pausing next to Cora at the door. The way she shot me a sideways glance told me what she thought of Liam and I spending time together during the workday, but her opinion didn’t matter to anyone I knew. A quick wave and the two were eventually on their way.