by Lynn Cahoon
Mia glanced at the headlines that showed the parking lot of Mia’s Morsels and the emergency vehicles parked there. This was the one time she was glad she didn’t have a sign. “It could be worse. They could have taken a picture of the building.”
“Yeah, I read the article. It was pretty vague about where the body was found and didn’t mention you or Mia’s Morsels at all.” The oven timer went off and Christina stood to retrieve the muffins. “You know everyone in town already knows a body was found behind the school. I don’t know why the newspaper even exists here. Gossip runs the news channels.”
Mia watched as her apprentice took the treats out of the oven, turned it off, and left them on top to cool. “Okay, so it’s not the article that has you in a bad mood. What happened with Bethanie last night? Did she stand you up for dinner?”
Christina threw the hot pads on the counter and refilled her coffee cup before returning to the table. When she did, she didn’t raise her eyes to meet Mia’s gaze. “I’m afraid you might have been right about Bethanie’s motives.”
“What do you mean?” Mia didn’t want to be right about this, but she could see the pain in Christina’s eyes.
“When I got to the bar and grill where we were going to meet up, Bethanie was already there. And so was Levi. They were playing darts and she was sitting on his lap.” Christina pressed her lips together before she went on. “I know we haven’t said we’re exclusive or anything, but it kind of knocked the wind out of me, seeing them together like that.”
“What did Levi say?” Mia knew the guy had been a playboy before Christina, but she’d thought he’d put those habits away.
“He pushed my concerns away. Said Bethanie was just like that. She’d been flirting with him since she’d arrived.” Christina finally looked up. “I’m not sure who I’m mad at—Bethanie for flirting with Levi or Levi for not shutting her down.”
“I’d say a little of both.” Mia stood and took the muffins out of the tin and put them on a cooling rack. Then she put four on a plate and took it back to the table. “Who picked the meeting place?”
“What?” Christina took one of the muffins and broke it open. The steam flowed out with all the good smells too. “Let me think. Bethanie. She set up our dinner.”
“Is this a place where Levi hangs out?”
Christina took a bite, nodded. “Yeah, he and the EMT guys go there after a shift. It’s where they unwind. Wait, you’re saying Bethanie knew that?”
“She’s lived here longer than you.” Mia let that soak in as she grabbed one of the muffins. They were fluffy and just the right mix of bread to blueberry. Christina had done an excellent job. “Maybe she was just trying to see how you’d react? Some women like the games. It’s kind of a power-play move.”
“And Levi just got in the middle.” Christina took a bite of the muffin. “These are really good. A lot better than the last batch I made.”
“They are good. Practice makes perfect.” Mia nodded. “I’m not saying Levi couldn’t have shut it down, but maybe he was just seeing Bethanie be Bethanie. The girl has a bit of a wild side. Talk to him about how the situation made you feel, not what he did to you. I think he’ll understand.”
“Man, this love thing is filled with potholes. Maybe just staying single is a better path.” She reached down to pet Mr. Darcy. “What do you think, kitty?”
He bit her hand.
“Ouch. I guess I’m talking to Dorian, right?” Christina rubbed her finger. “Sorry for the confusion.”
“He needs to get used to it.” Mia directed the comment to the cat. “It is Mr. Darcy’s body.”
Dorian—or Mr. Darcy, Mia couldn’t tell which—blinked his eyes at her, then jumped on the window seat, where he settled into a spot of sunshine, apparently done with the conversation.
“I wish Grans would find the spell so Mr. Darcy could have his body back. I’m tired of not knowing who I’m talking to.” Mia glanced at Christina’s finger. “Is it bad?”
“No, he just nipped at me. Maybe he was telling me to give Levi a break.” Christina looked hopeful. She glanced at her phone. “I’m going to call him.” She finished her muffin, then threw away the paper wrapper. “Thanks for the chat.”
“Anytime.” Mia settled in and read the rest of the paper, hoping that the news wouldn’t affect her business. She finished a muffin and grabbed a second one as Grans came in the kitchen with Muffy. She looked tired. Mia started to stand, but Grans waved her back down.
“I can pour my own coffee.” She glanced at the muffins. “I take it you couldn’t sleep?”
“Actually, Christina made these. I’m afraid my ways of dealing with stress might have worn off on her. Can I at least take Muffy out for you?” Mia rubbed the little dog’s head as she spoke.
“That would be nice. I was planning on asking Christina, but I guess she’s not here.” Grans sat down at the table and sipped her coffee. “I love staying with you, but it’s hard on Muffy. He’s used to having his own backyard and doggy door.”
“Not sure I can fix the doggy-door problem, but I can put up a little yard for him so we could let him out on his own. Maybe off the downstairs kitchen.” Mia refilled her cup. “Hold that thought. Maybe Trent has some ideas. Is his leash downstairs by the door?”
“In the basket.”
Mia and Muffy made their way downstairs, and she clicked a leash on his collar. When she opened the door, a man stood there, ready to knock.
He jerked back as she opened the door, and Muffy ran toward him, barking.
“Oh, I didn’t see you,” he stammered.
Mia closed the door behind her and studied him. “Can I help you?”
“Maybe. I’m here to talk to Mia Malone?” His eyes were dark and almost lost in his pudgy face.
“That’s me; what can I help you with?” She let Muffy’s leash out a little so the little dog could reach the grass in front of the building. “Sorry, he needs some room.”
“Cute dog. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you need to be careful.” He glanced around the building. “This isn’t a very safe place to live.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Mia had stepped around him so Muffy could explore more of the grass and do her business.
“You’re in danger. I can’t tell you how I know, but I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” He turned around as Trent’s truck pulled into the driveway. “I have to go. Just consider leaving for a while. Maybe selling. Selling would be good too.”
She watched as he hurried away. Trent was standing outside his truck, watching the man almost run away down the street. She called after him, “Who are you? Why are you threatening me?”
“It’s not me that you have to worry about, Mia Malone. Just listen to my warning and leave this place. Before it’s too late.”
Chapter 8
Trent hurried over to her side. “Are you okay? What did Dick Hodges want?”
“That was Dick Hodges? The man who runs the hardware store?” Mia bit her bottom lip, thinking. “Well, he wanted to tell me that it wasn’t safe here. That I should sell. He probably recognized the house from today’s newspaper article and decided he’d had a vision or something. There’s nothing to worry about.”
At this, Muffy barked and ran in circles. Then the dog stopped, barked again, and sat.
Mia smiled and leaned down to pet him. “I guess he agrees with my assessment.”
“I don’t know.” Trent looked down the road at the disappearing figure. “Something’s been bothering me. Did you ever find out who was taking your cooking utensils, then giving them back as gifts?”
Mia rubbed her temples and glanced inside, where she’d left her coffee. Right after she’d moved here, someone had stolen her chef’s knife and a corkscrew. Each had shown up later, wrapped up as gifts. “No, I didn’t. I assumed it had to have been John. He’s the one who wants me out of here. But now? I don’t know. Anyway, come on in and have some coffee. Christina made muffins, but she might still be mad
at Levi, so if she’s grumpy, I’m sorry.”
“What did my brother do now?” Trent held open the door for Mia and the little dog.
Mia let Muffy off the leash once the door was closed, and the dog ran upstairs, disappearing into the apartment. She dropped the leash into the basket. “That’s between her and Levi. I’m not breaking her confidence, but let’s just say he was thoughtless last night.”
“Sounds like him.” Trent pulled her into his arms and looked at her. “Are you sure you don’t want to call Baldwin on Hodges?”
She shook her head. “No. If he comes back, I promise, I’ll call then. I just think he’s someone who wants attention. Besides, what did he say? I’m in danger. He didn’t say he was going to hurt me himself.”
“Sure, of course. It’s not like you didn’t have a dead man in your backyard a few days ago.” Trent followed her up the stairs. “I’m not trying to tell you how to run your life, but . . .”
“Then don’t. I’m not stupid. I’m not going to put myself in danger, but if he’d wanted to hurt me, he had time to do it before you arrived. He didn’t. He wanted to warn me. And there was something in his words, I believe.” Mia paused at the doorway. “If you don’t mind, please drop the subject. I’d rather Grans didn’t know about this. With Cindy here, she’s a little on edge.”
“You all are a bunch of nerves around here.” Trent nodded. “I’ll keep it between us, only if you’ll promise you’ll tell me if you see the guy again. Even if it’s in the police station or at church. I want to know if he’s hanging around.”
She put her hands under her chin and batted her eyes. “Such a strong, protective reaction. It’s good to have someone worried about me.”
That made him smile. “Don’t forget it. But I get the point. I’ll tone down the alpha-male routine.”
After breakfast Trent went off to work at the store. Cindy still hadn’t come out of her bedroom. Mia and Christina went down to the kitchen to load up the deliveries for the day. Mia left Christina filling the carts and went to the office to print off the delivery route. She glanced at the blinking light on her office phone. As she booted up the computer, she let the messages run, hoping for a few more orders for the week. Instead, she listened to message after message asking if she was okay, and if the delivery would still be made. The grapevine had been busy. She finished printing the delivery schedule and decided she’d have Christina drive so she could call each of the stops on her list to make sure they’d be expecting them. Maybe a short conversation would limit the amount of time it took to complete the delivery, because everyone would want the gossip.
They got the van loaded and headed to the first stop. Mia had the next three people called before they arrived at the Danvers estate. She glanced at Christina. “In and out. That’s our plan. If they start asking, we don’t know anything more than what was in the paper. And yes, it was horrible.”
“That’s a script I can follow. I know nothing, but I’m as shocked about it as you are.” She put a hand to her forehead. “I almost fainted when I heard.”
“Okay, don’t go all high-school drama queen on me.” Mia grinned at her. “Let’s get this day started.”
As she’d expected, Mrs. Danvers had heard about the body found behind the school. As had everyone else.
By the time they were finished with the deliveries, they had multiple orders for next week because they had to wait for the form to be filled out, which gave the curious customer a reason to hold them for one or two more questions. True to her word, Christina had been a trooper. She showed shock and dismay at the poor man who’d lost his life, while keeping the details to a minimum. She even got them moving when the discussion ran long and Mia hadn’t been able to extract them.
After the last delivery Mia took over the driving, but before she backed out of the last driveway, she leaned back and closed her eyes. “I can’t believe how draining that was. Seriously, we don’t know anything about this guy, but everyone needed the same story. Maybe I should have put out an announcement to all our customers this weekend, telling them what we knew.”
“Man, I need a massage.” Christina rolled her shoulders and stretched out her neck. “Besides, it wouldn’t have changed anything. A murder is a big deal here in Magic Springs. I know they’ve had people die, but this guy was a complete stranger. And a contract assassin. Some of them may be worried he got whacked at the wrong house and he was really after someone else.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Mia admitted. She pointed out the McMansion in front of her. “I guess it’s not far off to think they might be too. The problem with that story is, he’d have to be a complete moron to mistake our old schoolhouse for a place like that.”
“I guess he didn’t have a subscription to House Beautiful.” Christina hid a yawn as she picked up her phone and started texting.
“Do you have plans tonight?” Mia pulled the van out of the driveway and thought about dinner. She had an extra chicken marsala downstairs, and since she and Grans had just had pasta, she could make a spaghetti squash for the noodle portion. Which might ease Cindy’s mind over the carbs.
“I did. I just told Levi we’d have to reschedule.” Christina tucked her phone into her purse. “I’m beat. Can I help you with dinner since I’m going to be staying in?”
“Sure, but it’s going to be pretty easy. Maybe you can make a salad.” Mia went over her plan for the meal as they drove home. As she parked, she grabbed her tote, into which she’d put next week’s orders, and locked the van.
Christina glanced at the vehicle. “Are you sure you don’t want to bring in the racks?”
“We can do that tomorrow, before we start prepping for the party on Saturday. Tonight the only other thing I’m doing is dumping this tote in the office and grabbing the chicken.” She shut the door and locked it after them. If Cindy or Grans were out, they could buzz the apartment. She shivered a bit as she thought about the guy this morning. “Let’s keep this door locked up for a few days, okay?”
Christina nodded as she moved toward the kitchen. “I’ll get dinner, you handle the office.”
“Dinner’s in the first fridge, where we store the deliveries,” Mia called after her. She dumped her tote on her desk, then glanced at the phone again. The blinking light was back. She ignored it. She’d been foolish to think it was new orders last time. Tonight she was done with work. It was time to relax.
She locked the office door, and when Christina appeared with the aluminum pan with their dinner, she locked the kitchen too. It had a double-keyed lock, so if somehow, someone got in the back door at the kitchen, they wouldn’t be able to access the rest of the building. It made Mia feel a little more secure in this really big house. No, building. She paused and looked around the yellow lobby area. No, house. The apartment was home, but the building was no longer a school; it was a house. Her house.
Grans and Cindy were at the kitchen table when they came in. Muffy barked to announce their arrival. Christina glanced at Grans. “Can I take him out?”
“He probably needs to go. We’ve been at this for a while.” Grans smiled at Christina. “I’d appreciate that.”
Christina set the pan on the stove, then glanced at Mia. “I’ll be right back and start that salad.”
“Don’t hurry, I’ve got to get the squash in first.” Mia went to the credenza, where she had bowls for the fresh fruit and other produce that didn’t need to be kept in the refrigerator. She grabbed two spaghetti squashes and took them to the sink to wash. She glanced over to the table, where Cindy and Grans were still huddled over Cindy’s spell book. “Did you find the spell?”
Grans sighed. “Not yet. We thought we had, but it hadn’t been cast for more than two years, so Dorian must have been the last one to use it.”
“You can tell when a spell was cast?” Mia cut open the squash and carved out the seeds. Then she sprinkled the cut side with salt and olive oil and put them into the oven to bake. “Can I see what you’re looking a
t?”
Grans shook her head. “I’ll have to show you the next time we find one that Cindy recognizes. I don’t want to accidently activate something just to show you a trick I’ve learned over the years.”
Mia turned to Cindy. “I get that. Dinner’s going to be ready around seven. Are you staying?”
Cindy shrugged. “I guess. What are you eating? More pasta?”
Mia told her the menu and saw a small look of surprise on Cindy’s face. “Although I could do something else for you if that doesn’t work.”
“Oh, that would be great. I’m just surprised you even attempted to make it less heavy.” Cindy sighed. “I’m sorry, I sound like a food snob. But when I was at the Lodge, everything was either fried or covered with sauce or came with pasta. It’s all so heavy. My only slightly healthy meal was a chef salad with processed meats.”
“We like food here.” Mia took a sparkling water from the fridge. “But I get it, you have a different diet. I’ll try to be thoughtful during your stay.”
“I’ll try to be more grateful.” A look passed between Cindy and Grans. Apparently, they’d been talking about more than just the grimoire today. “I am very thankful you took me in after they found that man.”
Mia paused at the doorway. She’d been about to say that the dead guy probably didn’t have anything to do with Cindy’s visit, but what if it had? She skirted the issue. “We’re glad to have you with us this week.”
She left the kitchen and headed to her room to shower and relax for a while. Except all she could think of was why a two-bit contract hitter would have been found dead in her backyard. Cindy’s visit was just coincidental to this killer thing, right? She’d never ask about her visitor at the Lodge. Mia shook the idea away. Now she was questioning everyone’s motives and alibis just because they were strangers. Besides, all her investigative paths of thought went back to John and his offers on the school. Did he think that if she died, Grans would let him buy the building?
She decided it was time for her to get involved in this investigation. Baldwin wasn’t going to like it, but she had a stake in the outcome. And if someone—okay, ten to one it was John—was targeting her, she deserved to know. She took a notebook from her desk and opened her laptop. What did she need to know that she didn’t yet?
