Expresso Messo: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 6)

by Constance Barker

  I felt odd being there. What if Mildred suddenly came home and demanded to know why I was there? I’d breathe a sigh of relief that she was safe. And I’m sure she would understand. I watched the door for a few minutes willing her to walk through it but nothing happened. I guess that only happened in movies. It was worth a shot. I turned back to the task at hand.

  In the living room there were also a few things on the floor that I hadn’t noticed before when I was in the kitchen. Papers, a sock of all things. I didn’t know Mildred that well, certainly had never been to her house, so I didn’t know if this was just how she kept the place. Or maybe someone had been here. Someone who had been looking for something.

  The possibility that someone had been there and ransacked her place made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Were they looking for something? Had they found it? What if they’d given up because it was taking too long and they decided to come back? If they came back while I was here would I be able to hide until they left? I wasn’t familiar with Mildred’s house. I didn’t know if it had any hiding places sufficient enough to conceal me from a stranger looking for something.

  In my experience if you wanted to find something you tore the place apart, looking in every nook and cranny until you found it. So maybe they had found it. Unless they were interrupted. Maybe they’d heard something. Thought someone was coming to the door so they stopped.

  What could Mildred possibly have that someone else would want though? I couldn’t wrap my brain around any of this. I couldn’t picture the ditsy red-head having some secret life that would make someone ransack her house. If she’d wanted to blackmail someone she could have done that when she was dating Carl Jefferies. But she hadn’t. Maybe because she actually cared for him until he swindled her.

  No, Mildred was a lot of things but I didn’t think she was the kind of person to keep dirt on people. She wasn’t like Fannie Diddlemeier. Though they’d been friends, if that’s what you wanted to call their relationship, Mildred was nothing like that woman.

  Maybe Mildred was just messy. Not everyone was hung up on being neat all the time. I liked to have my apartment as clean as possible in case an unexpected guest dropped by. And now that I was with Eli I wanted the place clean for when he came over. But Mildred might be naturally untidy. I didn’t know her well enough to know how she liked to keep her house.

  Deciding that I was getting nowhere in the living room I roamed down the hall to her bedroom. Feeling a little guilty for invading her privacy I told myself it was for the good of Mildred. Anything might be a clue and she could be in trouble.

  The door was wide open so I peered in from the threshold first hoping something would jump out at me and I wouldn’t need to go inside. The bedroom was just as messy as the living room. An unmade bed held center stage with dirty clothes covering the floor, tossed over a chair, on the dresser. It was like a teenager had been there and tried everything on, tossing each outfit aside because she didn’t like it. Mildred was far from a teenager.

  I reached inside and flipped the light switch beside the door. The room brightened and I could see that her dresser was unkempt as well. Jewelry! Maybe Mildred had been robbed and walked in on the intruder. Or maybe it was a home invasion. They knocked, she answered and they pushed their way into the house. But then where was Mildred? They wouldn’t have taken her with them.

  Even though I didn’t want to invade her bedroom sanctuary I didn’t have a choice. I inched into the room, picking my way through the clothes on the floor to get to the dresser. Out in plain sight were a couple of rings, a necklace, and a bracelet. So much for my theory that it was a robbery. I doubted Mildred had enough money lying around to make that worthwhile.

  Buried under a scarf, the edge of an appointment book peeked out. Finally something I could use! I daintily lifted the scarf off and picked up the day planner. I flipped through it to see what she’d been doing the day she went missing.

  In big letters she had Toe’s name in red with a circle around it. So she was definitely expecting him and hadn’t forgotten. If she checked her book every day even if it had slipped her mind that he was coming this would remind her. And Toe reminded her as well. I flipped back to the day before she went missing. In big letters she had the salon written down. With a circle around it. And underneath she’d written Joseph’s name.

  Interesting. A hair appointment the day before she’d mysteriously disappeared. Joseph and everyone at the salon would have been the last people to see her unless she’d bumped into anyone else before this morning.

  As much as I knew my hair was a lost cause I had no choice. For the investigation and to help Mildred I would finally take Joseph up on his offer. It was time to do something with my limp locks.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The next morning I was at the Coffee Cabana sipping my second coffee of the day, waiting for my aunts to show up with baked goods. I was a little tired after a late night helping Jules with her newspaper. She’d lost more than a few hours because of the moonshine so I couldn’t leave her in a lurch. By the time I got home I fell into bed and didn’t stir until my alarm went off way too early.

  At least the newspaper got out in time this morning. I’d seen a few people carrying it with them when they came in to get their morning coffee. The Cabana was quiet now, the last customer had left ten minutes ago. With everything cleaned, the display wiped down, the tables cleared after the morning rush, I had nothing to do but wait.

  I was still no closer to having a plan for Valentine’s Day or figuring out Mildred’s disappearance. I’d told Jules everything I found at Mildred’s. We’d discussed the possibilities while we got the paper ready but still had no solid theories. So my planned impromptu visit to the salon was all I had at the moment. I hope it panned out.

  Finally Hildie and Essie pushed through the front door, the jingle of the bell music to my ears. I hopped off the stool I’d been sitting on behind the counter. Couldn’t look like I was sitting around doing nothing even if it was my own shop. With the stool customers couldn’t really see it unless they got close to the counter. By that time I would have jumped down to serve them. My feet couldn’t handle standing on a hard floor all day. Yes, I’m whining again, but at least it’s not about Eli forsaking me for his dad.

  “I’m glad you guys are here. Can you handle things for a while?”

  “Not even a hello,” Essie said to Hildie.

  “I blame you. She has your temperament sometimes.”

  Essie huffed. “My temperament is fine. Hers needs a pick me up.”

  “I’m right here,” I said waving a hand in front of them.

  “What’s the emergency this time?” Essie asked.

  “I’m going to the salon to see if they can fit me in.”

  The hope on my aunts’ faces caused a twinge of regret.

  Essie’s eyes lit up. “You’re finally listening to us and doing something with those mop of yours?”

  “Relax. I’m going because Mildred had an appointment there the day before she vanished.”

  Hildie’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Darn. Well, at least you’re going. It’s a start.”

  “My hair isn’t that bad.”

  Essie and Hildie looked at each other with forlorn looks on their faces. Good grief people!

  Essie patted my shoulder in a there, there gesture. “It’s not your fault that you didn’t get our genes for perfect hair.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not getting it cut or anything. I’m going to be investigating.”

  “At least let him trim it.” Hildie picked up a lock and looked at the split ends.

  I stepped back and she let go, the lock falling limply back on my shoulder.

  “Maybe a trim. Definitely a wash. I need to be there for a little while so I can ask questions without causing suspicion.”

  “Then get some highlights,” Hildie replied. “Get some color in that crown for Pete’s sake.”

  “Good luck with your investigation dear,�
� Essie said and smiled.

  “What does that mean?”

  “One of Mildred’s neighbors mentioned to us that she saw you at Mildred’s house. You were a little conspicuous.”

  So her neighbors were nosier than I thought they were. Maybe I should have been talking with them instead of snooping around Mildred’s place. At least they hadn’t called the police on me. I don’t know how I would have talked myself out of that one. Mildred didn’t even have plants or a pet I could have claimed to be looking after.

  “Will you watch the place while I go work on my investigative skills?”

  Perhaps I should talk to Eli about giving me some pointers when it came to investigating. I’d been doing okay so far but I wanted to be better at it. You never knew what could happen here. Months ago I would never have thought we’d have a murder but now we’d had more than one. A girl couldn’t be too careful. I should have let Jules or someone come with me yesterday.

  “We will watch the place for you. Come back with some body in that hair.”

  I gave them each a hug and ran to the back to get my purse. They teased because they loved me. That’s why I teased them. But they weren’t wrong about the lack of body in my hair. Though I doubted Joseph could work miracles I secretly hoped he would and headed to the front of the store.

  Before I reached the front door Jules came in looking much better than she had yesterday. A copy of the day’s newspaper clutched in one hand, she thrust it at me with a grin on her face.

  “Thanks so much for helping me with this.”

  “No problem, that’s what friends are for. I dragged you to Reva’s after all where you were tempted by the liquor syrup.”

  “Were you headed out somewhere?” she asked eying the purse over my shoulder.

  “In a minute. I’m headed to the salon for more investigating.”

  I took my spot behind the counter and poured Jules a coffee in a to go cup. I brought it over to the table she was now sitting at, the newspaper spread open to the secret admirer column.

  “The column is doing well?” I asked as I put her coffee on the table.

  She nodded. “We’re getting a lot of submissions. It’s hard to decide what to put in.”

  I pointed to one about half way down the page.

  Otherwise occupied but I still have eyes for you. A cent for your thoughts. Call me.

  I shook my head. “That sounds like someone is looking to cheat. Or maybe already is. Kind of bold to flaunt it like that in a daily newspaper.”

  Jules scanned down the list. “How about this one from someone hoping the other person will stop by while the cat’s away.”

  “Hmm. The mice will play. But who are the mice here? I can’t tell by that. I guess they know who they are. If not then one mouse is going to be mighty lonely.

  Some of the messages in the column sounded like genuine love struck people hoping to get the attention of the person they’d had their eye on. I read through the rest of the entries wondering if any of them were from Trevor directed at Moira. What if one of them was from Moira directed at someone other than Trevor?

  Most of them sounded like code that you would only know if you were one of the people involved. I wish I’d thought to put something in there for Eli but he wasn’t here anyway. If he came back before Valentine’s Day maybe I would. I’d told him not to rush. If he was having fun with his dad he should stay and enjoy himself. They’d made plans for the trip before he proposed to me. I couldn’t very well ask him to cancel just because it was our first Valentine’s Day as an engaged couple. I would torture him with other firsts, though I hoped he would get back in time. Just in case I needed to come up with something spectacular to celebrate.

  “I hope those few admissions aren’t people looking to cheat. I would feel so bad if my newspaper helped them do that.”

  “I’m sure it’s not. Maybe it’s just couples having a little fun leaving messages for each other.”

  Jules took a sip of her coffee and nodded. “You’re probably right.”

  “With the way some people are around here you never know,” Essie said.

  I know she was remembering Carl Jefferies and the many women he’d dated while still married. It wasn’t just about the fooling around with him though. He was swindling them too.

  “True. But I like to think better of people in our little town,” I said.

  “Wait until you’re older, you’ll know people aren’t always what they appear to be.”

  Was she thinking about Toe? Everyone knew he was the town’s most eligible bachelor. Maybe despite all of her boasting about not caring who he dated she wanted to see him more. They did hit the town once in a while but maybe that wasn’t enough for her. I knew she’d never admit it though. She liked her independence.

  “On that note, I’ll head back to the paper. I have inventory to do and Moira is coming by later to help with the column for tomorrow’s edition. If I think of anything for Valentine’s Day I’ll call you.”

  Jules dashed out and I grabbed my purse again.

  “Valentine’s Day?” Hildie asked.

  “If Eli is back in time I want to do something special to celebrate but I can’t think of anything. Jules is helping me.”

  “I’m sure whatever you do he’ll love it,” Essie said in an uncharacteristic show of holiday support.

  “Thanks. I won’t be long at the salon. Joseph will only be able to do so much with this rat’s nest.”

  The salon wasn’t a long walk from the Coffee Cabana. I arrived a few minutes later and pushed open the door. The scents of ammonia, hair spray, mousse and a variety of other chemicals assaulted my senses as I walked in. A cloud of hair spray seemed to float on the air toward the open door. I side stepped it and walked up to the front desk.

  The salon was abuzz with chatter and hairdryers. I thought I heard music over a speaker but it was drowned out by the numerous conversations going on. What surprised me was how many people were here at this time of day. Then I remembered I lived in Sweet Home where 70% of the people were over 60. I spotted Reva at the back getting her hair washed. And a few other retired ladies. Okay, so it looked like I was probably the youngest one here right now except for the receptionist.

  “I’d like to see if I can get an appointment today,” I said hopefully.

  The receptionist frowned and flipped through a book on the desk filled with names. Some had stars beside them. Some were crossed off.

  “It doesn’t look good. It’s pretty booked up.” She looked at my hair. “If you need a lot of work I don’t think we have a spot today.”

  “I’m just getting a wash and trim,” I said.

  Her demeanor perked up and she wiggled on her chair. “Then I can fit you in with one of the girls in about twenty minutes. Is that okay?”

  I looked up to see who the girls were. Joseph was the owner of the place and the hairdresser most of the ladies in town preferred but he’d hired some other stylists to keep up with demand. Two of them were hovering around their clients, scissors slicing through locks, hair spray cans spritzing bangs. One lady sat at the far table with foils in her hair. I wondered what color her highlights were going to be. Maybe I should consider highlighting or coloring my dishwater blond tresses. Wonder what Eli would think of a brunette beauty or a hot redhead. I giggled inwardly.

  “I can wait.”

  She nodded and penciled me into a sliver of white space available in the book. I took a seat by the door and riffled through a magazine. One celebrity was divorcing another celebrity. Yet another celebrity had decided to adopt a child to her husband’s dismay. Plastered across the cover of another magazine the headline declared that another celebrity cut her hair. Do you like her new bob? I shook my head and put the magazines back.

  I heard a squeal of delight and looked up to see Joseph staring at me, hands on hips, titling his head from side to side as he took in my hair. His eyes danced with excitement and I kind of felt bad that I hadn’t come in before. What could it h
urt to have my hair washed and trimmed every few months?

  “You’re here!”

  “Yes, I’m waiting for ‘one of the girls’ to finish up so I can get a trim.”

  He clapped his hands twice by his head. “I will have no such thing! I will do your hair. I have waited so long for you to come to your senses and let a professional handle those tresses.”

  I bristled at the coming to my senses part but smiled at him sweetly. I would find out more information if I was pleasant.

  “That’s great. I will await your expert hands.”

  He smiled at that and his eyes lit up again. It didn’t take much to make the man happy. One mop head stopping in for a wash and style and he’s on cloud nine.