“Well?” Ember rinsed out her cup and looked at Violet, who was still sitting on the windowsill.
“Well, what?”
“Don’t you have something to do. A mouse to catch, a fur ball to cough up?”
“I don’t need insolence from you, too,” Violet said.
Ember reached for the sprayer hose and pulled it out slowly. “Who are you calling insolent?” She turned the handle so it was facing Violet.
“You wouldn’t dare.” The fur on Violet’s neck stood up and the tip of her tail twitched violently.
Ember turned on the water and held her finger just above the trigger. “Wouldn’t I?”
They locked eyes with each other, until Violet realized Ember had the upper hand. She crouched down and pushed off the windowsill, launching herself up and over Ember’s shoulder, and landed in the middle of the kitchen floor. She turned to face Ember. “Insolent little brat!”
Ember spun around and hit the trigger. Water sprayed out, hitting Violet square in the face. Violet yowled and raced out of the kitchen.
“She’s going to make you pay for that,” I said.
“I know, but it was so worth it.” Ember grinned as she slid the hose back in its socket. She grabbed some paper towels and mopped the floor.
“It was,” Raine laughed. “It most definitely was.”
I had to agree, but I made a mental note to check my shoes and pillow. Even though Ember had been the one to spray her, we were all susceptible to Violet’s payback. She didn’t discriminate.
Chapter 26
I unlocked the door to the café and flipped on the lights. “Can you turn on the dishwasher?” I asked Raine. “I’ll get the coffee started. Ember, go turn the sign and unlock the door.”
Ember saluted and marched through the swinging door.
“She’s in a good mood,” I said as I filled the coffee pot with water.
“I know. Weird, right?” Raine locked the handle on the dishwasher and hit the start button. She leaned back against the counter and folded her arms. “I think it’s Edward. He brings out the best in everyone, don’t you think?”
Soaking Violet seemed more like the obvious reason, I thought. I dumped the water into the machine and pulled a bag of roasted beans from the cabinet. I opened the bag and breathed deeply. The beans were a special blend, roasted by a local company just for Aura. The scent was heavenly.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” I said as I scooped the coffee out of the bag and into the filter. “But if he’s responsible for Ember’s good mood, then I guess I’m on board.” I swear I could hear the crazy-train whistle as it pulled out of the station.
“That’s great! I thought you didn’t like him, but he’s awesome, right?” She hugged me. “I think it’s so cool having a ghost living with us. And don’t you just love his accent?”
“Sure,” I said, “awesome, cool. Now let go, you’re squishing the coffee.”
Raine dropped her arms and moved back so I could fill the basket. “Ray likes him too. Isn’t that great?”
“Ray met him? How? He can’t see ghosts.” I finished scooping the coffee into the filter basket.
“No, of course not, but Ember said Gigi performed a spell so Ray could hear him. She called it a ‘bridge spell,’ but it was just temporary. She had to hold his hand while she did it.”
“And Ray was cool with that?”
“Holding Gigi’s hand?” Raine giggled. “What do you think?”
Of course Ray would be cool with that. He adored Gigi, but that’s not what I meant. “Edward,” I said. “What did Ray think of him, of having a ghost in the house?”
“Oh, well, you know Ray. If Gigi’s happy, he’s happy.”
The door swung open and Ember stuck her head in. “Matt’s here.”
“Be right there.” I put the coffee away and followed Raine as she skipped out into the café.
“Hey, Bree, Raine,” Matt said. He was sitting at a table and had his notebook in front of him. Ember sat down in the chair next to him, and I sat opposite them. Raine hopped up on the counter beside the cash register, her legs swinging.
“Everything okay?” I asked Matt. There were dark circles under his eyes and his normally clean-shaven face looked like it hadn’t seen a razor in a few days.
“Yeah, just a little tired.”
“He’s been with the state crime-scene investigators all morning,” Ember said. “Tell them what they said.”
“They found blood evidence in the trunk of Martin’s car and on the floor of the gallery.”
“Martin killed Seth in the gallery and then hid his body in the car?” I asked.
“Looks like it,” Matt answered. “And while everyone was in the gallery listening to Grant give his speech, Martin was outside placing Seth’s body in the parking lot. I’m guessing he slipped back into the gallery and made the call to Grant from his office, and that’s why he didn’t see Jason go outside.”
“And he made the car alarm go off while he was inside,” I said. “Martin knew the noise would draw everyone out to the parking lot in time to catch Grant red-handed. Only that didn’t happen. Jason got there first.”
“Wow,” Raine said quietly. “Poor Seth. He was there the whole time and we didn’t know.”
“Does Lydia know?” I asked Matt.
“I stopped by the hotel before I came here. She was upset, of course, but I think she’ll be okay. She’s tougher than she looks. And she wanted me to pass on her thanks to you guys. She really appreciates everything you did for her.”
I smiled. “I’m glad she’s okay.”
“And I’m glad Grant got what he deserved—nothing,” Raine said.
Matt laughed. “Actually he did get something. According to Lydia, the investors are planning on bringing a lawsuit against him for fraud. Grant was so convinced that he could get Seth to sell his land, he led them to believe he already owned the property.”
“Ha!” Raine clapped her hands together and looked at me with a big smile. “See? Just like I said. Grant sent out bad energy and it came back and bit him in the ass.”
“He got bit twice,” Matt said. Lydia’s planning on donating her land to the non-profit group as well. She said she’ll keep a small portion for herself, build a cottage on it, and rent it out until she’s ready to retire.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s fantastic. I’m glad some good has come out of this.” Breakers Beach might not be Tuscany, but at least Lydia got something she wanted.
“Tell her what Martin said.” Ember nudged Matt.
“What?” I asked.
“He wants to sue you for assault.”
I snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Matt laughed. “No, he was dead serious, but Adam shut him down pretty quick.”
“See? He likes you,” Raine said.
“Shut up,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
“What’s this?” Ember asked, sitting up straight.
“Nothing,” I answered and slouched down in my seat. I could feel my face burning.
“I knew it! You like him too!” Raine drummed her heels against the counter.
“So, Bree and Officer Bishop. Now isn’t that interesting.” Ember turned to Matt. “Is he married? Girlfriend, boyfriend?”
Matt sighed. “I don’t know. I just met the guy.”
“You have to find out,” Ember said.
He rubbed his forehead and looked at me. He wanted to be dragged into a discussion about my love life about as much as I did.
I quickly changed the subject. “There won’t be any problems getting a conviction, will there?”
Matt shook his head. “We’ve got everything we need to put him away for a long time.”
“I’m just grateful you showed up when you did,” I said.
“And Adam,” Raine said. “Don’t forget him.”
“As if you’re going to let me forget,” I said. “Matt, I hope you’re not in any trouble.”
“
Trouble? For what?”
“For sharing information with us. Adam must have wondered why we were at the cottage.”
“I never told him you were there—in fact, I didn’t have to tell him anything. After Ember called me, I radioed him from the boat to let him know what was happening but he told me he was already on his way there.”
“If you didn’t tell him, then how did he know the girls were there?” Ember asked.
“He didn’t. He said he was worried about Bree and Raine after seeing their scuffle with Grant.”
I felt something kick the back of my chair. I turned around; it was Raine’s foot. “See?” she said. “He was worried about us. Isn’t that sweet?”
“Anyway,” Matt continued, “he had a conversation with Grant which involved a lot of threats against you guys. Nothing concrete, but enough that Adam hung around the hotel. Sure enough, he saw Grant leave. Adam followed him and that’s when he got my call. Like me, he thought we were going to be arresting Grant, not Martin.”
“That’s what I thought too when Grant showed up at the cottage,” I said. “It wasn’t until I dialed the phone and I heard Martin’s ringtone that I knew it was him and not Grant.” Matt didn’t need to know it was Dora who had helped me figure it out. He didn’t need any more gray hair.
“That phone number turned out to be a burner number Martin bought right after he killed Seth,” Matt said. “That was a lucky catch for us. A few more days and that number would have disappeared.”
“You mean one of those throw-away phones?” Raine asked. “How is that possible? He would’ve had to go to the mainland to buy one. There’s no way he would’ve had enough time to do that.”
“Not a burner phone.” Ember jumped in before Matt had a chance to explain. “It was a burner number. You can buy a separate number for your existing phone all from the convenience of your computer. Cool, huh?” It was no surprise Ember knew that. Anything techy was right up her alley.
“Oh, yeah, I guess,” Raine said, clearly not as enthralled as Ember. “But I still don’t get why Martin killed Seth,” Raine said. “I know he was pissed because Seth fired him, but is that a reason to kill someone?”
“It wasn’t just that,” I said. “He was jealous of Seth’s success—or what he thought was success, though now we know that wasn’t true—but worse than that, Seth insulted his work.”
“So insulting someone is a reason for murder?”
“In Martin’s mind, yes. You should have seen how proud he was of his paintings. It was kind of sad.”
“I think that's stupid,” Raine said. She jumped down from the counter and walked over to the window.
“Whatever his reasons were, they won't help him now,” Matt said.
“Thanks to you,” Ember said, and planted a noisy kiss on his cheek.
“Thanks to Bree,” Matt corrected her. “If she hadn’t figured out that Seth didn’t own a phone, Martin might have gotten away with it—or been charged with nothing worse than theft.”
“Yeah, yeah, her too. Now kiss me, Officer Spencer,” Ember demanded. Matt happily obliged.
I ignored them and pulled my list out of my pocket. I looked over all the notes I’d made, crossing off everything that had to do with the party. At the bottom I made a new entry—Call Stacey: no more catering jobs.
“He’s here!” Raine clapped her hands together, and ran over to the door and pulled it open.
I glanced up from my list and my stomach did a backflip.
Adam Bishop walked in as Raine flipped the OPEN sign back to CLOSED.
“Morning, everyone. Hope I’m not interrupting.”
Matt pulled free of Ember’s grasp and stood up. “Not at all, grab a seat.”
Adam pulled out the chair next to me, spun it around and straddled it. His knee bumped my leg, and I debated whether or not it would be rude if I moved. Or maybe he would think I was a prude. Well, rude or prude, the guy was invading my space, so I scooched my chair over a little.
He looked down at the space between us and laughed. “Sorry about that. My mother always said I was like a bull in a china shop.”
“That’s what Gigi says about Ray.” Raine grabbed a chair from one of the other tables and parked it beside Ember, directly across from Adam. “He’s always bashing into something.”
“Gigi?” Adam said.
“Our grandmother. Her name’s Georgina but everyone calls her Gigi. You have to meet her. You’ll love her.”
“And Ray is your grandfather?”
“No, Gramps died a long time ago. Ray’s our handyman. He helps Gigi run the campground. Oh! You’ll have to come see the campground too. I’m sure Bree would love to show you around.” She looked at me and grinned like a toddler on crack. If I didn’t shut her up soon, she’d be inviting him to a sleepover. In my bed.
I turned to Adam. “Uh, I don’t think you’ve been introduced to my other sister, Ember.”
“Oh hell, sorry.” Matt looked at Ember. She was watching me with a little smile on her face, enjoying my discomfort.
Ember held out her hand to Adam. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. It seems you’ve made quite an impression on my sister.” She looked at me for what seemed like an eternity. “She loves meeting new people. She’s always bringing some poor lost soul home.”
“She means Raine,” I said, and instantly felt stupid.
“Oh, you don’t like meeting new people?” Adam asked with a grin.
I felt my cheeks burning. “No, no, that’s not what I meant; it’s just, Ember didn’t make it clear who she was talking about, so, you know, I was just clearing that up.” Could I sound any more idiotic? I tried to act casual by leaning back in my chair and crossing my legs, but all I managed to do was bump my knee on the table and send my pencil skittering to the floor. It rolled under the table and I dove down after it, praying for a hole to open up in the floor beneath me.
Matt jumped in, coming to the rescue. “Adam, did the transport show up for Martin? When I left the station, dispatch said they were on the way.”
“Yeah, they picked him up a little while ago. I don’t envy the transport crew. He was still going on about witches while they were loading him into the van.” Adam chuckled.
I finally retrieved my pencil, and as I got back into my chair I looked at Raine and Ember. Their faces revealed nothing; Matt was the one who looked uncomfortable. Just then his phone rang, and relief washed over his face. “Excuse me while I get this.” He walked over to the window, the phone to his ear.
I watched as Matt nodded his head a couple of times and then heard him say, “We’ll be right there.” He came back to the table and picked up his notebook. “The crime scene guys are wrapping it up at the gallery. I want to get over there before they leave.”
“Let’s roll,” Adam said and stood up. He turned the chair back around and slid it under the table. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ember.” He nodded at Raine and then me. “I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
We watched as they left and then Ember spoke up, “Raine’s right, he likes you.”
“Oh please,” I said, “don’t start.”
“Too late, it’s already started.” She pointed to my list, still sitting on the table.
I looked down at it. Below my last entry there was another item, written in ink: Dinner tomorrow? Pick you up at 8.
I glanced up. Raine looked at me and smiled. “Giddy-up.”
Chapter 27
About the Author
Danielle Finch is a writer and a middle sister. She wishes she could do magic. She doesn’t have a referee’s whistle. Yet.
To learn when new releases are available like Danielle’s FaceBook Page.
@DanielleFinchAuthor
<
center>
Stuck in the Middle Witch You (A Middle Witch Mystery Book 1) Page 16
