Perhaps some willow bark would get rid of that? Clover suggested, a tinge of apology in her voice.
Penuche stared at me, and for a split second, I thought I saw a flicker of compassion in his eyes before he trotted off to curl up in a patch of sun in the greenhouse.
“Thank you both.”
“I didn’t stop because you asked. All this activity has exhausted me.” Penuche tucked his face under his tail and immediately fell asleep.
I certainly hope he is not going to be a permanent fixture here. Clover’s thoughts were heavy with worry.
“Don’t worry. I’m only watching him for Lilly. He’ll be just an unpleasant memory as soon as I can get rid of him.”
“I heard that!”
It was a bit after noon when I finished sweeping up all the loose soil and dealt with my deliveries. Time to head next door to see if I could make poor Lilly some profit while she sat alone in jail. Given the way the day was going, she needed all the help she could get to raise funds for her bail.
I closed my shop and packed Penuche in one of Clover’s old cat carriers. He was not happy about that, but I didn’t dare leave him and Clover alone in the shop.
Good riddance! Clover yelled after us as I locked the door. Poor Clover didn’t realize Penuche would probably be coming back.
As it turned out, running the chocolate shop wasn’t that much different from running my own place. Sell inventory and spiff up the stock when needed. I refilled the popular fudge display and restocked the maple creams. I even managed to put out the rest of the salted caramels on the tray Lilly had given me that morning. It all looked perfect and pretty for the tourists passing by the windows outside.
When traffic died down around three, I started closing up. I’d promised Lilly I’d talk to Tommy, and I wanted to do that before I went to Coconuts. I was just packing up Penuche again when Tommy walked into the shop. Good, that would save me a trip.
“Thanks for watching the shop. My aunt told me you were helping out.” Something in the deep timbre of his voice sent my pulse skittering. Stupid, I know.
I smoothed a hand down my lavender T-shirt and plastered on a smile I hoped looked friendly and confident. “Glad to help. I’m just finishing up here and heading back next door. How’s your aunt holding up?” I had no intention of telling Tommy, or anyone, about my amateur sleuthing plans at Coconuts.
Tommy raked a hand through his hair, making it even more adorable in its disarray, as if that were possible. He shook his head and frowned. “Not well, considering she’s under arrest. I still can’t believe they think she had anything to do with what happened in the resort lobby.”
“Of course she didn’t. I was there when the constable took her away, and it sounded to me like everything they’ve got against your aunt is strictly circumstantial at this point. Buddy mentioned something about it being suspicious that Amelia died in Lilly’s fountain, which of course is beyond stupid.” I sighed and stared at my toes. “Then again, there was the fiber. That’s a little more troubling, but I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for it.”
“Fiber?” Tommy asked, confused. “What fiber?”
“Remember when Abigail was examining the body in the lobby? She found an Angora fiber on Amelia’s skin. I didn’t think any more about it until the constable pointed out that Lilly had a knitting project with the same color Angora.”
Tommy mumbled something under his breath that I didn’t catch, but if his fierce look was any indication, that was a good thing. He began to pace the store, detouring around the table with the dark chocolate soft centers and then turning again at the display of Belgian chocolate seashells. “My aunt didn’t kill anyone. I’m sure of it. I just hope it’s not …” His voice trailed off as he paced past me. I caught a whiff of his cologne mixed with a hint of freshly baked pies. Intoxicating.
“Not what?” I asked, clearing my throat when my voice went all dreamy without my consent.
Tommy stopped walking and met my gaze, his brown eyes serious. “What?”
“You said you just hoped it wasn’t … something.”
“Oh.” He gave a dismissive wave. “Nothing. Thinking out loud. That’s all.” He checked his watch then gave me a small smile. My heart squeezed. “I need to get back to my kitchen.”
“Right.” The word emerged from me as little more than a whisper because Tommy was standing very close, his hand reaching toward my face. My breath caught, and my pulse stumbled. The last time he’d leaned in like that had been at the tiki bar. It had been late, and we’d both had more than our fair share of rum runners. That night he’d trailed the backs of his fingers down my cheek and then moved closer as if to kiss me. Unfortunately, I had only a vague memory of what happened after that. My lips must have remembered, though, because now they parted of their own volition, tingling with anticipation.
Tommy’s hand moved past my cheek and into my hair, near my temple. Time seemed to slow. Here it was, our first kiss. Well, the first kiss I could fully remember, anyway.
I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t …
“You have a leaf stuck in your hair.” He stepped back with the thing in his palm.
“Oh.” I blinked at him a moment, trying desperately to still my whirling thoughts. “Uh, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He gave me that charming lopsided grin of his again then backed away. “See you around, Zola.”
“See you, Tommy.” I watched him walk away, my cheeks burning. I’d actually thought he was going to kiss me. How ridiculous was I?
Penuche caterwauled loudly from his carrier as if to say “Very!”
I trundled back into my store and put Penuche into a separate section of the break room, far from Clover. Then I spent a little while assuring Clover that Penuche would not be hanging around, before heading back to my scooter. It was almost four, and Coconuts was open. I needed to find out if Amelia was at the bar last night and, if so, with whom.
Six
I breezed over to Coconuts on the beach on my scooter. Once my feet left the pavement, I slipped off the rubber flip-flops that I’d changed into in the parking lot and let the warm sand slip between my toes. Even though it was just after four p.m., the place was hopping with tourists and locals. I made my way to the outdoor light-festooned tiki bar and slid onto one of the last available stools. The same annoying calypso music was piped in here as it was all over the island, but at least here it was accompanied by the waves lapping the beach. The place smelled of watermelon margaritas and coconut sunscreen.
Bonnie Fisher, the bartender, made her way over a few minutes later after serving a boisterous crowd of what appeared to be college students. A large woman with a happy smile, she was the type of person who seemed to invite everyone to open up, a trait handy to have in her profession. “Hi, Zola. What can I get you?”
“Just water with lemon for me, thanks.” I waited until she returned with my glass before saying, “I was actually hoping you might be able to tell me more about a woman who might have come in here last night.”
“I’ll try.” Bonnie leaned one hand against the bar while tossing a white towel over her shoulder with the other. “Don’t have a lot of time, but ask away.”
“Okay. Do you remember a rich lady with expensive clothes and a pink Birkin bag in here last evening? She had long blond hair and had had some work done.” I gestured to my face to indicate what type of work as I took a sip of my water. “She was very petite.”
Bonnie nodded. “Oh yeah, she was here. I remember that pink bag. She had it on the bar here and kept a close eye on it. Not surprised. Those bags cost a bundle. But she was one of those rich folks. All decked out in designer sunglasses, silk top, splashy leggings. Her shoes probably cost more than a year’s salary. And she was posed just so on the stool, like a debutante with a sweater draped over her shoulders. You’d think she was expecting paparazzi.”
“Was she alone?” I asked.
“Seemed that way. She sat abou
t where you are, drinking rum runners until she about fell off her stool.” Bonnie chuckled. “I offered to call her a ride back to the hotel, but she wouldn’t have it. Said she was heading off to find the Fountain of Youth.”
I cringed. Well, she’d found a fountain all right, but it’s on the other end of Main Street from where Amelia’s body was found. It made sense that the victim was seeking some eternal antiaging fix, given the amount of preservation she had done to herself, according to Abigail’s assessment.
“Is this about the woman they found dead in the resort lobby this morning?” Bonnie asked.
“Yes. You heard about that already?”
“Yep.” Bonnie shrugged. “I hear about everything. Not much is kept secret from me around here.” She grinned. “Well, and Tommy was in here asking about her too.”
“He was?” I almost choked on my water.
“I’ll tell you what I told him. That woman seemed oddly enamored of our island, considering she was just visiting. Awfully protective of it too. She mentioned that her husband had been scoping out land here in Eternal Springs. Said he was thinking about putting in a new strip mall where the mud baths are.”
“Strip mall?” I paused midsip. I couldn’t imagine that the Eternal Springs Town Council would ever allow such a thing to happen, but then I’d been more than surprised by a lot of things lately, particularly Amelia Pendleton showing up dead in a chocolate fountain.
“Yeah, a strip mall. All those godawful dollar stores and cheap souvenirs. Anyway, that woman said she’d let him ruin this beautiful island with a strip mall over her dead body. Then she told me she had her husband fooled. Said she’d already squared away a much better alternative with someone at a meeting she’d had earlier that day and she was here celebrating.”
“Huh.” I moved to scoot forward on my stool, grabbing the edge of the bar for balance. My fingers sank into something sticky underneath, and I pulled them away quickly to see it wasn’t gum, as I’d expected, but something brown and gooey. “Yuck.”
“Oh, sorry.” Bonnie handed me her towel. “That stuff’s been turning up around here a lot lately. Like to get my paws on the jerk who’s putting it there. Tough gunk to get off.”
After wiping away the offensive substance, I handed the towel back to Bonnie then leaned my elbows on the bar. “So, what time was Tommy in here?” He’d seemed in an awful hurry to get back to work when he’d left me earlier, but that couldn’t have been the case if he’d beat me to the bar.
Bonnie bobbled her head. “Maybe a half hour ago. He wanted to know if I saw anyone follow that woman out of here when she left.” So, he’d come here before I saw him at Lilly’s. Funny he never mentioned it.
“And did you?”
“Nope.” Bonnie’s lips quirked into a half smile as she narrowed her gaze on me. “You still sweet on Tommy? I remember that night you two were in here, smashed out of your gourds and kissing like a couple teenagers. Thought I sensed some serious sizzle from the two of you, though I guess that isn’t allowed, is it?”
My cheeks heated, and I couldn’t quite look her in the eye. Yeah, I was still sweet on Tommy, probably way more than was wise. I frowned. “Why isn’t it allowed?”
“Well, you being a nun and all,” Bonnie said, smacking me on the arm. “You know, nun of this and nun of that?” She laughed loudly.
“I’m not a nun, Bonnie.” I was getting sick of correcting people. After thirteen years, the nun jokes were more than getting old. We’d been seniors when the fire had happened, and we’d finished out the year in public high school. It should have been obvious to everyone that we never actually became nuns. But because we couldn’t let anyone get close to us, we sort of lived like nuns. Was that why Tommy kept his distance? Did he think I was off-limits due to my “nun” past?
“Right. So your rendition of ‘Like a Virgin’ at karaoke last week wasn’t from personal experience?” Bonnie laughed even louder this time then glanced down the bar and pulled a glass from the overhead rack. “I need to get back to work. Good seeing you again, Zola.”
The memory of last week’s karaoke night put a frown on my face. I hated singing karaoke. But Skye had doctored our drinks with a truth serum, and it had made us all do things we wouldn’t normally do. Come to think of it, I still had to get back at her for that. Maybe I could cook up something to do with Augie Taylor. The two of them had been all over each other last week. But not now. I had to focus on getting Lilly out of jail.
I finished my water and left with more questions than when I’d arrived. Why had Tommy been asking about Amelia? It seemed reasonable for him to want to investigate on his aunt’s behalf, but why wouldn’t he mention it? Then again, why would he? It wasn’t as if we had teamed up to clear Lilly. But he’d acted odd at Sweet Satisfaction, and he’d lied about going back to the restaurant.
Then there was the whole issue of this strip mall that Bonnie had brought up. There’d been no rumors going around about it, at least none that I’d heard. I couldn’t imagine that the council would let anyone pave over the mud baths to put up that kind of monstrosity. Kenna would have a fit. And the island was very protective of the spa. Tourism was how most of the residents made their livelihoods.
It sounded as though Amelia was diametrically opposed to her husband’s plan. Had they fought over it? Could her husband have had something to do with her death? Seemed plausible, especially if there’d been big bucks involved, and he’d wanted his deal to go through, and his wife had been opposed to it to the point of working against it behind his back. And what, exactly, was the better opportunity she’d secured earlier in the day?
As I hopped on my scooter, Bonnie’s words about Amelia claiming she’d let her husband build a strip mall over her dead body echoed in my head. That could have just been the rum runners talking. I’d have to find out if this strip-mall rumor was true. Lucky thing I knew exactly who to talk to about that.
Seven
Clover met me at the door when I returned to Cackleberries, her face wrinkled with concern.
Where have you been? Your bothersome guest has been caterwauling in there the whole time you’ve been gone. He’s making such a ruckus I’m afraid it’s disturbing the other shop owners. You spent a long time building up your reputation. What if we get kicked out?
Such a worrywart. “I don’t think we’ll get kicked out. I mean, how loud can one cat be?”
You’d be surprised. Though I am a little concerned, as there has been no sound at all for the last half hour.
I glanced at the door to my office, visions of the destruction inside whirling through my head. I cautiously opened the door, bracing myself for what I might find.
But everything was in place. No shredded sales receipts. No toppled-over bookcases. Even the potting soil that I had envisioned ripped open and strewn throughout the room was still in its plastic bag.
Penuche looked up at me with big round eyes. “Thank Bastet that you’re back. It was awful in here by myself. Lonely.”
“Is that why you were making so much noise?”
He nodded. “I don’t much like being alone. Please let me out. I promise to be good.”
Don’t listen to him, Clover said from behind me.
But Penuche looked apologetic. And he seemed so sad and forlorn curled up in the corner, his golden eyes blinking away unshed tears. Was he shaking? Sudden feelings of compassion overwhelmed me. This must be very disturbing for him. First his owner is mysteriously taken away, then a stranger rips him out of his home and sticks him in an unfamiliar plant shop with an antagonistic skunk.
“He says he’ll be good,” I said over my shoulder to Clover.
Clover sighed and waddled away. Suit yourself. I wouldn’t trust him if I were you.
I opened the door wider and gestured for Penuche to go out into the main shop. He nodded at me then trotted out and sat nicely in the front window, peering out at the street.
“See, Clover? Now that he’s gotten that out of his system, h
e’ll be good.”
Meow! Penuche took off toward the nearest plant, leaping onto a giant potted fern, his front claws digging furiously, dirt spewing all over the floor.
“Penuche!”
He stopped digging and looked over his shoulder at me. I swear he actually had an expression of remorse on his face. He hopped out of the pot and blanched, looking down at the dirt. “Sorry. I just couldn’t help myself. You see, I’ve been trapped inside so long, and it’s just a natural urge. I don’t mean any harm.”
Clover snorted.
“Well, I hope not. And I hope you’re not going to do that again. I don’t want to have to lock you in the office again. I have things to do, and I can’t babysit you, so do you promise to be good this time?”
Penuche flicked his tail and nodded.
I made sure the sign in my door was flipped to “closed” and set about my tasks. I couldn’t imagine the planning board approving the strip mall project, so I knew there must be something shady going on unless the rumor was wrong. I wouldn’t put it past Buddy to enter into some sort of agreement that benefited him financially. But if any new construction was planned, Iona Littlefield at the town council would know about it. Then again, if the strip-mall project was secret—possibly even sanctioned by Buddy—Iona would be sworn to secrecy.
The easiest way to get her to talk would be to use a truth serum. Unfortunately, Skye had used up all the cackleberries last week. She was selfish like that, taking them all for herself and not considering that someone else might have a need for them. I had my own stash of cackleberry plants hidden in back, but they weren’t ripe yet, and I didn’t dare use the unripened berries. Anything could happen if someone ingested those.
Fortunately, I knew of another way to get Iona to tell the truth.
The alternate method involved casting a spell using several items, one of which was a piece of lapis lazuli. The lapis was critical because, with this method, only the recipient of the lapis would be affected by the truth spell.
Spell on Earth (An Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 4
