"Seems like there has been a new one almost every day this week," Aubrey said.
"It's insanity," Jess said. "Why would someone do that?"
"I'm just going to find someone to fix it," I said.
"We need to find out who did it, and teach them a lesson," Jess said as she punched her own hand to punctuate her point.
We all laughed together.
"Watch out town," Aubrey said between giggles, "Jess is on the case. Those taggers won't know what hit them."
"I'm just saying," Jess said, after sticking her tongue out at Aubrey. "Someone needs to put an end to it already."
"I guess we should report it to the police, I'll tell William when he gets home tonight," Aubrey said.
"Oh! Jess, before I forget. Do you think you'll be okay without me Sunday?" I asked Jess after my laughter died down.
"Of course," she said. "Stop being a mother hen. I've got the cafe covered."
"I know, I just feel bad not being here. Aubrey and I are going to the Jamboree," I explained. "I can come back early if you want to go too."
"Oh no, don't worry about it. We're going to take the kids tomorrow," Jess said. "Besides, Kindrick will be here with me. You need to find a hobby. You know, enjoy your weekends."
"Thank you. That's what I've been saying!" Aubrey said and gestured to the cafe. "I have to get back to the kids. I swear, I thought someone died."
We laughed again, and Jess and I followed her out to enjoy a quick slice of pie. Having pie with the kids was becoming a sweet mid afternoon treat for all of us. But Aubrey surprising us with her baking skills was just another win under her belt.
As we ate, Aubrey made an extra large iced coffee for Sadie, the director of the Burnet County Chamber of Commerce. I was curious who she had a meeting with, as that was the only time she came into the cafe.
I had never been to the chamber offices, but I could only assume that they must have been small with her always hosting one-on-one meetings here.
She looked worse for wear, and I mulled over bringing up the graffiti to her. But she beat me to it and broke the silence first.
"Hailey, I am so sorry to see the cafe in such disarray."
"It's no big deal, I'm going to get someone to paint over it," I said.
"It's just horrible, why would someone do this? And right before Color the Town! I am beside myself with what the tourists will think!"
Oh, for tea's sake, it is just a little paint. Why was everyone acting like the world was ending? I mean sure; it upset me this morning, but I hoped it was nowhere near how these crazies were acting. I gave Aubrey a wide-eyed look, she rolled her eyes, and mouthed 'I know'
"It will be fine, Sadie," I said. "I'm sure all the business owners are working on getting it cleaned up."
"Yeah," Jess chimed in. "I bet the tourists will think it's cute. It will probably start a new trend of people coming to visit, just to see bad sayings."
"I hope you girls are right, I just can't fathom why, you know?" Sadie asked, making an overdramatic cringe with her face.
"I'm going to talk to William about it tonight. It will be fine," Aubrey said. "Do you have a meeting today?"
Thank the bean Aubrey changed the subject. At the rate we were going, I was thinking Sadie would burst into tears at any moment.
"Oh yes, I'm meeting Bianca to discuss Color the Town," Sadie said. Her tone instantly changed into a cheerful boast, "Did y'all make it to the mixer last night? It was a great turnout!"
"Hey Bianca!" Sadie said, as she waived to a woman walking in the door. She promptly left us and the conversation to greet the art gallery owner.
"Someone has the emotional range of a starlet," I said under my breath.
The girls nodded and giggled with me.
CHAPTER THREE
Thursday, April 9th
The day had been so busy I audibly sighed in relief when I locked up for the evening. My body ached in places I did not think it could, and it took more effort than usual to make it up the stairs. All I wanted to do was take a long soak in the tub, and order takeout.
"What are you doing?" Azure transmitted.
"Going to wash off the stress of the day."
"Forgetting something?"
"I'll feed you after my bath."
"Not that," he transmitted and walked in front of me to block my path to the bathroom. "Tribe meeting."
"Well ain't that some soggy tea leaves!"
"I'll take the lead, but you best hurry."
"Thank you."
The last thing in the world I wanted to do after a day like this, was gossip with a tribe of women. I loved our tribe, but large groups drained me, and I was already running on fumes. It was going to be a double espresso night.
Instead of the relaxing bath I deserved, I opted for fresh clothes. There was no way I would put back on the shirt I had sweat in all day. I made my way downstairs to play hostess to the tribe ladies, while Azure led the meeting for the dragons—the actual reason we had to get together each week.
Why they did not meet on their own, I had not quite figured out. It seemed like it would be easy enough to glamour into bats, and venture to a cave to hold their meetings.
"What's everyone having?" I asked as I came out of the storeroom.
Please no specialty requests, I pleaded as I crossed my fingers behind my back. I did not have it in me to make another Caramel Foxglove Dalgona—instant coffee whisked with sugar, scooped over vanilla almond milk and a shot of espresso in a cup drizzled with caramel. Never again would a whisked drink make the Poison of the Week menu.
One by one they came to the counter and placed their order. Thankfully, none of them asked for a specialty, and it only took ten minutes to get everyone seated with a fresh drink.
"We're so sorry about the cafe," Tori said as I took my seat at the head of the circle.
"Thank you."
"Do they know who did it?" Skylar asked.
"Not yet," I said. "But it's been happening almost every night this week."
"Guess you'll have to solve another mystery," Liz joked.
Everyone laughed as the comment had not been meant literally. But it did make me think. Why not me? I had after all solved two cases for William and Barry Bear. Why not this one?
"That may be an idea," I said more as an afterthought to myself, than anything else. I seemed to have a knack for stumbling into answers.
"Should we go over the cat show basics?" Tori asked. "We can fill you in on the five tribes that will be in attendance. And how we expect to win!"
"Oh yes," I said. "I was able to reserve hotel rooms. Or rather transferred Aunt Tona's reservations into my name."
"That's splendid news," Beth said. "We didn't want to pester you on the matter, but with the show coming up on May fifteenth, it was getting close to the deadline."
"How are you holding up?" Skylar asked.
The tribe had given me my space for dealing with Aunt Tona's passing, and while I missed her, the pain was no longer as sharp. More of a dull ache anytime I thought of her, which was often, given that I took over the cafe, tribe, and basically her entire life.
"I'm doing good," I lied. "Thank you."
I was not about to let the tribe in on my insecurities, or healing process. A strong leader knows when to show weakness, and besides, I had Aubrey for the personal stresses taking all of this on had brought me.
"We're here for you," Tori said.
The group nodded in agreement, and I smiled politely. Part of me wanted to call bullshit, but I stopped myself.
Tori had seemed to change since her exile. She was back to her perky—though fake—self and appeared to mellow out. I got the impression she was no longer interested in running the tribe. Maybe she realized it was not all it was cracked up to be. If I could I would have passed on the responsibility.
"Thank you guys, it means a lot," I said, hoping it sounded sincere.
I quickly turned the conversation back to the matter at hand and said, "So, we'll carpool i
nto Austin. We can meet here Thursday night, on the 14th, for our regular meeting, and then head straight for the hotel from here. It will be best for us to be there before, to look around and get comfortable with the new environment. We'll need to be at our best, if we're going to bring home first for the tribe."
"Oh, we will bring home first place!" Vera said.
I was sure my facial expression was priceless, as she caught me off guard. As our oldest member, I always viewed Vera like a gentle grandmother. I mean, she spent her days growing beautiful flowers. But in that moment, she sounded like a bloodthirsty warrior. There was a competitive streak inside her.
"Absolutely," Sofia said.
These grandmothers were giving me a fresh look on what it meant to be elderly and refined. Who knew a cat show would be the ticket to tapping into the dark side of these women?
"We can't allow Tribe Avoiuli to win," Sofia continued.
"Who?"
"They're the Austin tribe," Sofia explained. "One of theirs landed second last year."
"Don't forget about Tribe Cyrillic either," Betty said. And seeing the look of confusion on my face added, "They're the dragons around San Antonio. Catty women."
I could not stop myself from chuckling and tried to hide it behind a quick sip from my coffee.
"Excellent," I said. "It's settled then. We'll bring home gold."
CHAPTER FOUR
Friday, April 10th
The cafe was back to its usual pace, with a handful of morning regulars rather than packed tables of gossiping town's folk. Not that I would complain about the extra sales, but there is more to life than maximizing the cafe's earnings. Especially when it meant I would have to listen to gossip all day.
Jeremiah walked in carrying a cd case and said, "I caught the bugger."
He held it up in triumph as he came to sit at the counter.
"What?" Aubrey and I asked together.
"The little punk, who's been going around town spray painting the businesses."
Oh tea, here we go again. And I thought it would be a gossip free day. Aubrey and I looked at each other with a knowing glance, and I just shook my head.
"I'll get my laptop," I said and hurried upstairs.
When I returned Jeremiah sat at the counter sipping a fresh cup of coffee. Jenny and Beau sat on either side of him, excitement clear as day on their faces. I guess Jenny would be a new regular at the rate she was showing up to get in on the gossip. But having been out with Beau a time or two, I knew exactly where he stood as town gossip, and this was sure to be the hottest news all month. So I was not the least bit surprised that he left his table to get in on the fuss.
"Okay," I said, setting down the laptop on the bar. "We'll come around so we can all see it."
Jeremiah handed me the cd case, and I placed the DVD inside the laptop. Of course, being a computer, the laptop didn't want to cooperate at first, and it forced me to update a piece of software before it could read the DVD. Nothing was ever easy when a computer was involved.
After the laptop finished doing its updates, and decided that it would work, I reloaded the DVD. Adjusted the sounds to not annoy the other customers. And finally, pressed play on the screen, to learn the identity of the town tagger.
"Where's the sound?" Aubrey asked.
"No sound on the surveillance cameras," Jeremiah explained.
"How were you able to identify anyone? It's so dark," I said.
"It was the middle of the night," he said. "You'll see."
"Shh," Jenny said, edging closer to the screen. "Look, someones coming!"
The suspect finally came on screen, but there was no way to see who it was. Even if the camera had been of higher quality, the person seemed to be fully covered. As if they had anticipated security cameras.
"See," Jeremiah said. "It's those darn skater teens."
"I can see how you'd think that," I was forced to admit.
"Do they ever look at the camera?" Beau asked.
The suspect wore a dark hoodie which hid most of their face, and dark jeans that didn't seem to fit properly, as they kept pulling them up. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like they were wearing gloves too, so any chance of a fingerprint was gone.
"No," Jeremiah said, "but it doesn't make a difference. It's a punk kid, and I've caught him in the act."
I was impressed with the process and the artwork. They clearly had talent with painting, because they were able to do the entire mural in under thirty minutes. Why there were no cop patrols in that thirty-minute window was a question for William.
"Jeremiah," I said. "When was the last time you upgraded your camera system?"
"Never have."
"You know, technology is one of those things worth upgrading."
"If it ain't broke don't fix it," he said, chuckling to himself.
"I'd say it's broke if the footage is always this grainy."
"That ain't broke, all camera footage looks like that."
Aubrey and I laughed.
"No, that's broken. Look at mine," I said as I logged into the app for my front and back door cameras. "See, clear as glass."
"Huh. Well, I'll be. Maybe I should invest in some new ones. You call my son and tell him where you got yours, okay?"
"Of course I will. We should just have the paper do an article on upgrading too."
I laughed, but Jeremiah's nod told me he was taking my comment way more serious than I had intended it to be. He was probably on to something though. The entire town still read the paper more than they used the internet, and with so many elderly folks being business owners. It would not hurt to try to get them to upgrade their systems. The tagger might have been caught already, if there was clear footage to be seen.
"You can't say who that is from this," Aubrey said.
"It's got to be one of those teens though," Jenny said, and Beau nodded in agreement.
Who knew that all it took for the town to turn on teens was a grainy film and a disheveled appearance?
"I'll admit it looks like it could be one of the teens," I said. "But this film proves nothing. I expect you all to keep your opinions to yourself until we find more evidence."
"Going to solve another case on your own?" Jeremiah asked.
"No," Aubrey said. "She's going to solve it with me and Jess."
She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.
A smile erupted on my face, and I felt my cheeks flush.
"Marvellous news," Azure transmitted. "This time I get to stay home and sleep."
"Oh, yeah?" Jeremiah asked. "Think you three can solve what your husband hasn't been able to do all month?"
"Not at all," I transmitted. "You heard about the film quality. Who do you think will be on stakeout duty?"
"The police!" he transmitted.
"Hey now, you leave William out of this Jeremiah," Aubrey warned, wagging her finger in his face. "If I hear you've gone off blabbering to him, I'll make you drink cappuccinos for a week."
"Guess again," I transmitted, doing my best to send the image of me sticking my tongue out along with the words.
"Sounds like I'm getting an upgrade to fresh salmon," Azure transmitted.
"Only a joke dear," Jeremiah said holding his hands up in surrender. "You know, a little friendly teasing. No reason to threaten my coffee."
"Deal!" I transmitted.
I could feel his purrs even though he was upstairs, curled up. Little did the fluff ball know, I would need to see results before I purchased any salmon.
The four of us broke out in a fit of laughter at this, and after a moment Jeremiah joined in. Coffee was serious business, but that didn't mean that we needed to take ourselves too seriously.
CHAPTER FIVE
Saturday, April 11th
I felt the tingle of deja vu, as Jess bombarded me with the latest tag as soon as I walked into the cafe for a morning cup of coffee. I wanted to go back to starting my morning with my biggest concern still being what drink to make myself
.
Was that too much to ask?
"Only the artwork wasn't rude like all the others," Jess said.
"That's suspicious," Azure transmitted.
"What did it say?" I asked.
"You should be monitoring the town at night," I transmitted.
"Be a rainbow in someone's cloud," Jess said, and stretched her arms across over her head in an arch. "And it was pretty, with rainbow stripes, and little outlines of rainbows with clouds stenciled in black."
"That's suspicious," I said. "And I think it's a quote by someone."
"That's what I thought. I mean that it was suspicious. All of these could be quotes for all I know."
She laughed at herself, which made me smile.
Sometimes I forgot the level of useless facts I knew. I guess college was good for something other than warding me off cities for life.
"Are you thinking Bianca could have tagged her own building?" Azure transmitted.
"It's possible that Bianca did it herself," I said, knowing Azure would hear too.
Customers were eavesdropping rather than carry on with their own conversations.
"We should bring the other girls in on this," I said.
"Tonight, for girls' night?"
"It's like you can read my mind," I said.
Jess grabbed a French press and walked the cafe, filling up the half empty cups. If a plain cup of black coffee went empty, it meant we were not doing our job correctly. Or it was the rare day where the whole town decided to crowd in.
"And what am I supposed to do?" Azure transmitted.
"I would have thought that obvious to a natural-born leader like yourself, but if you need it spelled out, go on the prowl," I transmitted back.
His sass levels were abnormally high when it came to helping me with literally anything other than roasting the beans. But if we were a team, we needed to be all in on all the things, together.
"Maybe I like popcorn too," he transmitted along with an image of his face pouting.
"You are impossible," I transmitted as I rolled my eyes at his sad face. "If you want popcorn, you need to fly over the town tonight."
"If I must," he transmitted.
I could envision him sticking his nose in the air as he said it. Personally I was starting to think Tona had really underutilized his abilities. He was quite the lazy little tea-tart. But I had big plans to movinate him into being involved with cafe happenings. What was the point of hanging out on the top side if he was still living a cave life?
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