A Whisper of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 5)

by Alaine Allister

  Suddenly her bedroom door behind her slammed.

  She jumped and whirled around.

  Thankfully, no one was there.

  “It must have been the wind,” Clarissa whispered to herself, her heart pounding for no good reason. She went into the kitchen and shut the window. When she turned around, she nearly tripped over a very sleepy and very annoyed looking Cat.

  “Would you stop making noise?” the cat demanded in heavily-accented English.

  “It wasn’t me,” Clarissa began to explain. “It was –”

  “Don’t care,” Cat interrupted. “I’m awake now and I’m hungry. Feed me.”

  “You could say ‘please’ you know,” Clarissa grumbled.

  “Yes,” the cat agreed. “I could. I’m not going to, but I could. I want steak and lobster.”

  Clarissa walked over to the cupboard with her demanding companion right on her heels. Just to prove a point, Clarissa opened up a tin of chicken flavored wet cat food. She ignored the entitled feline’s protests as she emptied the tin into a bowl.

  Smiling sweetly, she placed the bowl on the floor.

  “Bon appétit!” Clarissa grinned as the unimpressed animal glared up at her. The cat had an annoying habit of treating her like its own personal slave. It felt good to put the snarky little brat in its place every so often.

  The cat hissed at her and then skulked off to pout.

  “Hmm, I guess the cat wasn’t hungry after all,” Clarissa giggled to herself.

  Suddenly the lightbulb above her flickered. For a brief but tense moment, Clarissa was afraid the house might catch fire. She had never seen a lightbulb shoot so many sparks! Then, thankfully, it burned out before it could set anything ablaze.

  “That shouldn’t have happened,” Clarissa murmured, wrinkling her nose at the burning smell that had taken over her kitchen. “These old houses and their quirks,” she sighed with a shake of her head as she opened up the window she had just shut. “I guess I’d better call an electrician.”

  Once the kitchen was sufficiently aired out, she opened the fridge and investigated its contents.

  She had to smirk when she remembered the cat’s meal request.

  She certainly didn’t have any steak or lobster in her fridge! It seemed the cat didn’t quite grasp the concept of grocery shopping…or cooking…or money. It seemed to think food just magically appeared in the fridge!

  “What to eat, what to eat?” Clarissa whispered to herself. She wished food would just magically appear in the fridge! Suddenly her stomach was rumbling loudly. She hadn’t realized she was hungry until that very moment.

  How late was it, anyway? She glanced over at the clock on the wall to see what time it was.

  She paused. Something didn’t look quite right, but she couldn’t pinpoint what the problem was.

  She took a step closer and squinted up at the clock. Then she gasped.

  The second hand on the clock was moving backwards.

  Eyes wide, Clarissa slowly backed away. Then she grabbed her car keys off the kitchen table. “Cat, I’m going out!” she called. Then she practically ran out of the house.

  Maybe she had somehow messed up the spell that set time back thirty seconds. Or maybe the clock was just old and malfunctioning. After all, it was old. It had been her mother’s and before that, it had belonged to her mother’s mother.

  That was it. The clock was old and beginning to wear out.

  Clarissa had never heard of a clock’s hands turning backwards before, but she decided not to overthink it. There was probably a perfectly reasonable and scientific explanation for what was happening, but Clarissa didn’t care to give it any more consideration.

  She was spooked and wanted to be around other people.

  So she drove to the local coffee shop, where she knew she would find friendly faces.

  Chapter 03

  Just Desserts was the best (and only) coffee shop in Sugarcomb Lake. It was the place to be. It was where all the townspeople congregated to socialize and gossip. In many ways, it was the hub of the small town.

  As the name suggested, the coffee shop wasn’t just a coffee shop. It also sold sweet treats. Cinnamon buns, freshly baked pie and mouth-wateringly good cookies were always available. It was Clarissa’s own personal idea of paradise.

  The shop’s previous owner had retired. It was now under new management. As a matter of fact, Clarissa’s best friend Liana was the new owner. And Clarissa was her very best customer. Maybe that was why the belt of her robe barely fastened around her middle these days…

  “Well look who it is!” Liana called from behind the counter when she spotted Clarissa.

  Liana and Clarissa went way back. They had both grown up in sleepy Sugarcomb Lake, a rural Minnesotan town. They had been best friends ever since their school days. Though they had both moved away to attend college, they had eventually found their way back to the charming small town.

  They were as close now as they had been as schoolgirls.

  But life was much different now.

  Liana and Clarissa were adults. That meant they had to do Adult Things, like hold down jobs and pay bills. Clarissa made ends meet by singlehandedly running the small town’s one and only newspaper. And Liana was learning the ropes of operating a bustling coffee shop.

  “Hi!” Clarissa smiled as she sat down at the counter. “How are you?”

  “Busy,” Liana replied as she wiped the counter down with a damp cloth. Her blonde hair was a mess and she had coffee stains on her white apron. She looked exhausted but happy. “I guess I can’t complain that business is booming. How are you?”

  “Good!” Clarissa replied.

  “How’s Parker?” Liana asked with a devilish gleam in her eye.

  “He’s fine,” Clarissa said, blushing at the mention of her boyfriend. It didn’t help that her best friend always talked about him in a teasing, singsong voice! Liana just loved taunting her about her burgeoning romance. It was embarrassing, but Clarissa knew it was all in good fun.

  “I haven’t seen Parker in a while,” Liana observed.

  “I haven’t seen him in a while, either. He’s been really busy with work,” Clarissa sighed. “He said if he had known there would be so many strings attached, he never would have agreed to take over the family newspaper. His father isn’t making it easy for him.”

  “That’s too bad. He should just leave Green City and move here!” Liana declared.

  “And do what?” Clarissa chuckled. “He’s the sole heir to a media empire. He needs to be in Green City right now so he can oversee what’s going on in the office. Maybe once he’s made the transition to owner he can delegate more.”

  “When will that be?” Liana asked.

  “I don’t know. Hopefully Parker’s father will step down soon. Then things will get easier – and I’ll get my boyfriend back.” Then, changing the subject, Clarissa sniffed the air. “Mmm,” she murmured appreciatively. “You have the best-smelling business in town!”

  “Can I get you anything?” Liana offered.

  “It smells so amazing in here! But then it always does,” Clarissa said, her mouth watering as she savored the aroma of coffee intermixed with baked goods. “I’ll have one of everything,” she announced with a devilish grin.

  Liana laughed. “You say that now, but you’ll be mad at me later when your stomach hurts.”

  “Fine,” Clarissa grumbled good-naturedly. “What do you recommend?”

  “Right before you got here, I put a fresh batch of brownies into the oven,” Liana said. She paused and sniffed the air. “Actually, it smells like they’re nearly done. I’d better go check on them. Want me to bring you one when they’re finished baking?”

  “Yes!” Clarissa exclaimed emphatically.

  Liana disappeared into the back to retrieve the pan of brownies.

  Clarissa, meanwhile, hopped over the counter so she could grab a fresh pot of coffee. Then she walked from table to table, offering to top up customers’
mugs. Liana generously gave her free coffee on a regular basis, so Clarissa tried to pitch in whenever she could.

  Clarissa approached the woman seated at the closest table to her.

  Living in a small town meant that nearly everybody was an acquaintance, if not a friend. Clarissa thought this modestly-dressed, makeup-free woman looked vaguely familiar, but she didn’t know her by name.

  Clarissa tilted her head to the side as she attempted to place the woman. She was probably in her mid-thirties, so they hadn’t gone to school together. With a shrug, Clarissa decided she had likely just seen the woman around town on occasion.

  “Would you like some more coffee?” Clarissa asked.

  “Pardon?” the woman asked, glancing up from her book.

  Clarissa held up the coffee pot and smiled.

  “Oh!” The woman took off her reading glasses, set them down on the table and rubbed her eyes. “Yes, some more coffee would be great. Thanks. I was so involved with my book that I didn’t even notice you walk over,” she said sheepishly.

  “Is it a good book?” Clarissa asked as she filled the mug with steamy, caffeinated goodness.

  “Yes!” the woman replied.

  Clarissa glanced at the cover. “Astrophysics?” she said. “I don’t even know what that is!”

  “I don’t either,” the woman confessed. She brushed her shoulder length blonde hair behind her ears. Then she lifted up the hardcover book to reveal what she was actually reading. “I feel silly reading cheesy romance novels, but lately I just can’t get enough of them!” she whispered.

  “Your secret is safe with me,” Clarissa winked.

  “I’ll have some more coffee please,” Morris Norman called out as Clarissa passed by.

  “Sure thing!” she chirped, pausing to fill the mug he held out to her.

  “Thanks,” Morris said, giving her a nod.

  He was a mild-mannered, balding man in his sixties. Clarissa knew him from around town. She also knew him because she had regular, unwanted interactions with his bossy, holier-than-thou wife! Clarissa often wondered how on earth Morris Norman had wound up married to such a…

  Ahem.

  Well.

  Clarissa decided not to finish that thought. There was no need to use vulgarity.

  Barbara Norman was constantly pestering Clarissa to feature her unremarkable garden in the local newspaper. It was ridiculous. It was absurd. It was an utter and complete waste of Clarissa’s time, not to mention a never ending source of aggravation.

  At first Clarissa had tried to be polite. She had humored Barbara as best she could. But now it seemed there was no end in sight. If Clarissa got one more call about a carrot or tomato that supposedly resembled Elvis Presley, she would scream!

  It was no wonder Morris was hiding out at the coffee shop.

  With a wife as overbearing as his, it was surprising he ever went home at all!

  He was seated at a table full of other men of a similar age. None of them appeared to be in a hurry to leave, and Clarissa knew why. These particular men were all retirees. They liked to congregate and socialize. They met up regularly for coffee – and gossip.

  Of course, they would never admit it was gossip. To them, it was Important Business. But Clarissa knew for a fact it was gossip. Her own father had been one of the coffee shop gossips back before he and her mother had decided to move to Florida!

  “Are you working here now?” Morris asked curiously.

  “No, I’m just helping out,” Clarissa replied.

  “Well here,” Morris said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a couple one dollar bills. “You deserve a tip for the great job you’re doing.”

  “I’m just pouring coffee!” Clarissa laughed.

  “And you didn’t spill a single drop! That’s impressive! Take it, I insist!” Morris urged.

  “Thank you!” Clarissa said, reluctantly accepting the crumpled up one dollar bills. She didn’t want to take Morris’s money, but she also didn’t want to be rude. She decided to use the cash he had given her to buy him a cookie. That seemed like a good compromise.

  Humming under her breath, Clarissa retrieved a delicious looking frosted lemon sugar cookie from the display case. She carefully arranged it on a plate. She was sure Morris would love it. Who wouldn’t? It smelled absolutely heavenly!

  After depositing the money in Liana’s cash register, she returned to Morris’s table. Unfortunately, he was no longer there.

  “Did Morris go home?” Carissa asked the other men who were sitting at the table.

  “He did,” one of them confirmed. “He said his old lady had a long chore list for him.”

  “Poor guy,” another fellow chimed in.

  There was a chorus of laughter. Everyone knew how Barbara Norman could be.

  It seemed the only person who was blind to her unreasonable behavior was Morris himself. Then again, maybe he wasn’t so blind to it after all. Maybe that was why he spent so much time at the coffee shop!

  The door jingled and a young couple walked in.

  The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He was tall and thin, with slicked back hair and a slightly cocky saunter. Clarissa didn’t recognize him, though that didn’t mean anything. He was a pretty average looking, unremarkable guy. His only real distinguishing feature was a piercing in his ear. It just screamed Midlife Crisis.

  The woman was probably closer to Clarissa’s age – late twenties or early thirties at most. She had a slight build, jet black hair and a few interesting looking tattoos on her arms. Clarissa didn’t know her, so she was most likely new in town.

  The couple took a seat in a booth near the back of the shop.

  That was when Clarissa glanced out the window.

  Morris Norman’s red jeep was parked on the street right outside the coffee shop!

  Eager to catch him before he left, Clarissa grabbed the lemon cookie and made a beeline for the door. But before she made it outside, the driver’s side door of the jeep opened. Out stepped none other than Justin Brown, Sugarcomb Lake’s resident bratty teenager.

  Clarissa and Justin were not exactly on good terms.

  Justin was a menace. Maybe he wasn’t a bad kid – maybe he was just a bored kid stuck in a small town with nothing better to do than cause mischief. Either way, he seemed to find trouble wherever he went.

  Clarissa had no patience for that.

  In fact, she had scolded Justin for his bad behavior on more than one occasion.

  The troublemaking teenager sauntered into the coffee shop. He had his black ball cap pulled low across his eyes, his scruffy brown hair sticking out beneath it. His cargo pants were so loose it seemed they might fall down at any moment. Apparently that was the style these days or something.

  Justin walked right up to the counter and stood there slouching, arms crossed.

  He apparently thought he was the coolest guy on Earth.

  Clarissa had a much different opinion.

  “Out joyriding again, are you?” Clarissa asked him with a disapproving stare. She wasn’t about to let him get away with his shenanigans. At the very least, she wanted to call him out.

  Justin looked at her. She saw a flicker of fear in his eyes when he recognized her. Then he sneered. “Morris Norman lets me borrow his jeep whenever I want,” he bragged. “What’s it to you, anyway?”

  “You and I both know the truth. Morris Norman doesn’t let you borrow the jeep. He has a bad habit of leaving it unlocked with his keys inside. You take the jeep whenever you feel like it. You’re just lucky Morris doesn’t go to the police!”

  “Why would he?” Justin asked. “I always bring the jeep back when I’m done with it.”

  “You’re not even old enough to drive!” Clarissa exclaimed in exasperation.

  “Who are you, the cops?” the mouthy teen shot back.

  Just then, the door jingled. In walked Sam Swanson, a local police officer. Clarissa lit up. “I’m not a police officer, but there’s one right over there. Why do
n’t we go see what he thinks about your so-called borrowing of Morris Norman’s jeep?” she suggested smugly.

  All the color drained from Justin’s face. He knew he was caught. Suddenly he wasn’t so cocky. “I – I’ve gotta go,” he mumbled, averting his eyes. Then he turned and practically raced out of the coffee shop.

  Chuckling to herself, Clarissa made her way over to Sam.

  She figured a little tip-off about an underage driver in a stolen vehicle was in order. And her dislike of Justin Brown had nothing to do with her desire to rat him out. Well, maybe it had a little bit to do with it.

  But really, she was just a concerned citizen making an innocent report to a police officer…

  Suddenly there was a commotion near the back of the coffee shop.

  Clarissa whirled around to see quite the spectacle.

  Sugarcomb Lake’s most eccentric resident was standing on top of a table. She was wearing at least six dresses, all layered one over the other. Her long black and grey hair cascaded down her back wildly her eyes were rolled back in her head. She appeared to be speaking in tongues.

  “Oh boy,” Clarissa sighed.

  She exchanged a look with Liana, who seemed to be completely horrified.

  Reluctantly, the two women made their way over. Clarissa had no idea what they were going to do or say to calm the situation. All she knew was the eccentric woman was causing a lot of disruption, and everyone in the coffee shop was staring.

  Just then, Sam pushed past Clarissa and Liana.

  He marched over to the woman and stood there with his hands on his hips. “Nora,” he said sternly as he looked up at her, “I’m going to need you to get down from there.”

  Nora closed her eyes and began to hum loudly, completely ignoring Sam.

  “Nora!” he tried again. “You’re making a scene. We’ve been over this before. You can’t come into a private establishment like this and cause a disruption. Are you planning to buy anything in here?” he asked.

  Nora shook her head.

  “Then I’m going to ask you to leave,” Sam said matter-of-factly. “You’re upsetting paying customers.” He wasn’t one to mince words, and he didn’t always play nice. But Clarissa supposed those were good personality traits for a police officer to have.