by Ginny Gold
“I’ll see you Friday at the library?” Kori asked as she helped Jenna get the kids dressed in their winter clothes again. They had walked the short distance from Jenna’s house to the café and now they had to walk back before it got dark.
“Yup. We’re decorating sugar cookies tomorrow. The kids will take theirs home, but I’ll make enough for Friday’s exchange.”
Kori was once again impressed with everything Jenna could accomplish with so many toddlers and only one adult.
Once the door closed, Ibis came out of hiding, wagging her tail and definitely ready for a walk. Kori got as bundled up as the kids had been and clipped the leash to Ibis’ collar. Outside, Ibis had no interest in staying out long, so Kori found herself with time to spare before she headed to Zach’s for dinner. She decided to pay a visit to Aunt Addie’s Red Barn Foods to see if Addie herself might be able to point Kori toward Donnie’s killer.
CHAPTER 5
Kori parked at Aunt Addie’s Red Barn Foods and wasn’t surprised to see plenty of other cars in the lot. To her relief, there were no police cars. Either they already talked to Addie or they hadn’t gotten to her yet. She’d try to find out from Zach tonight over dinner. Kori knew she could be heading down a dead end. But either way, she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she figured out why someone wanted Donnie dead. It was eating her up.
She let herself in the front door of the big red barn that had been converted to office spaces when the company grew. She already knew her way around the offices and she headed straight for Addie Winter’s, the owner.
As she walked down the empty hallway, Kori could hear arguing coming from the office she wanted. The door was closed but the sound of angry voices easily came through.
“What do you mean . . . supposed to be . . .”
The second voice grew much quieter and almost disappeared. Kori suspected whoever it belonged to was trying to calm down the owner of the first voice. She couldn’t make out the response; it was just a jumbled mess of sounds through the closed door.
“If he was . . . I would have known.”
Kori paused in the hallway. She wanted to get closer to the door, to listen to everything the two women said. She realized if she got caught it would be hard to explain away. There was no reason for her to be here to begin with, and any normal person would wait at the reception area. The secretary had conveniently been gone from her desk, allowing Kori access to this part of the building.
Both voices seemed to disappear and Kori wondered if they were having a more civilized conversation or if their conversation was about to end. Following her gut instinct for once and not getting more involved in something she probably didn’t want to know about, Kori headed back to the reception area.
She took a seat in one of the not so comfy chairs, and the secretary immediately walked in. Kori couldn’t remember her name for the life of her, not even a first letter jumped to the front of her brain to give her a clue.
“Kori,” the young woman said, wiping wet hands on her blue dress and leaving water marks along her hips. “What brings you here?” She stuck out her hand once they were dry.
“Hi,” Kori replied, wishing she could remember her name at the last second. “I just wanted to talk to Addie about . . . some things about my order,” she quickly lied. She didn’t want everyone to figure out she was snooping for details about Donnie.
“Okay. Do you have an appointment? Did you try calling to make those changes?”
“No. And no. I was in the area and thought I’d try to talk in person.”
The young woman shuffled some papers around before responding. “I’ll tell her you’re here. There have been some unexpected events today, so it might be a little while.”
“Thanks.”
Kori wondered if she should risk asking the secretary—Leah, her name finally came to her—about Donnie. She waited while Leah called through to Addie. They caught the tail end of a yelled sentence on the intercom before Addie and whoever else was in there realized they’d been buzzed.
“Ms. Kori Cooke is here to see you,” Leah said calmly, not revealing any expression on her face that would tell Kori if she knew what was going on in Addie’s office.
“Thank you Leah. I’ll be right down to see her,” came Addie’s reply.
Kori wondered if this was just the out Addie needed to get the other person out of her office.
Kori decided not to ask Leah about Donnie and instead would wait until she could talk to Addie herself.
“Can I get you anything?” Leah asked. “Water? Coffee? Tea?”
“No, thanks.”
Kori waited only another few moments before an incredibly tall and solidly built woman walked down the hall from the direction of Addie’s office. She made no move to acknowledge either Kori or Leah and huffed her way through the front door. Leah continued staring at the computer screen in front of her so Kori couldn’t exchange an unasked question with her. She wondered what the hurry was.
“Kori,” Addie said, walking with determination in her direction, hand already extended. Kori stood and they shook hands. She noticed Addie’s deep tan and wondered if she’d recently been on vacation. “Why don’t we talk in my office. Leah, please don’t interrupt us.”
Leah nodded and Kori followed Addie down the hall.
Neither of them said a word until they were closed into Addie’s office. This was only Kori’s second time in Addie’s office, her only other visit had been when she setup the delivery schedule and selected the foods she would need regularly. Today, the office looked no different.
The entire company occupied the first floor of the converted barn and Addie’s corner office boasted floor to ceiling windows on two walls. It overlooked a small pond, frozen over now, surrounded by plenty of trees and shrubs. Kori thought it almost gave the sense of being outside.
Addie didn’t sit behind the oversized desk, but took a seat in one of the chairs next to the windows. Kori sat opposite her, a small coffee table between them.
“I was so sorry to hear about Donnie this morning. And you found him, didn’t you?” Addie asked, tilting her head to one side, her mouth forming a slight frown.
Kori nodded, remembering back to the unforgettable moment when she realized she was looking at Donnie’s dead body.
“I can’t even imagine how terrible that must have been.” Addie continued looking at Kori and she felt like she was being read like a book.
“It . . . was. Yes.”
“And now you wanted to make sure that we were still going to be able to fulfill your regular orders. I can assure you that we’ll be looking to hire someone new as soon as possible.”
Kori nodded again, glad that Addie offered an explanation for Kori’s unexpected visit. She hadn’t thought about two weeks from now when Donnie wouldn’t be the one making her regular delivery. She didn’t have a clue who might take his place.
“There is one other driver at the moment, Chip Gordon, and we’ll be starting interviews just after the new year. I hope to be able to post the position before Christmas, but you know, this is a tough time of year to get people interested in working. They’re all excited about the holidays and vacation time.”
“Yes.” Kori felt the same way. “Will Chip be able to cover all of your orders until you hire a full time replacement for Donnie?” Kori asked.
“He’ll have to work some overtime, but I’m sure we’ll be able to make it all work. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about? Are you happy with everything else?”
Kori paused, not sure which question to answer first. “Yes, everything else is going fine. But I did actually want to talk to you about Donnie—”
Addie interrupted before Kori could continue. “It must have been just awful this morning. I’d like to offer to pay for some counseling sessions for you. I feel it’s our duty to make sure that you’re okay after this . . . ordeal.”
Kori shook her head. “I couldn’t let you do that. I’ll be fine . . . really. Give i
t to Donnie’s family. Maybe they could use the counseling instead.”
Addie looked down at her hands. “He didn’t have any family that I know of. No siblings. Single . . .”
“Who would want him dead?” Kori blurted out to fill the pause left by Addie’s unfinished thought.
Addie shook her head, not missing a beat. “I’m not sure. I’ve already spoken with the police and they assured me that they’ll follow every lead to find out who did this.”
“But you must know plenty about him. He’s worked for you long enough.”
“Oh yes. I knew him quite well actually,” Addie said, looking at Kori again. “But I can’t think of anyone—”
She suddenly stopped midsentence and Kori leaned slightly forward. “You can think of someone, can’t you?”
“Perhaps. The woman I was just speaking with, Cecilia Blake. She would certainly have a reason to want him dead.”
Kori waited for Addie to explain.
“Donnie left her at the altar just a month ago. It was quite an embarrassment.”
CHAPTER 6
Kori was hurried out of the office, Addie acting like she regretted sharing that last bit of information. Despite the quick departure, Kori didn’t think the meeting could have gone better. Not only had she been given a suspect with a solid motive, Cecilia Blake, but she also learned that her delivery schedule wouldn’t be affected by Donnie’s murder, an unintended consequence of losing an employee.
She was also happy that she’d learned Chip Gordon’s name. If he worked with Donnie, he might be able to offer additional leads.
For now, Kori chose to be happy with the little information she knew. She rushed home, showered and changed to go to Zach’s for dinner.
By the time she was ready to head over to Zach’s, she was wearing black leggings that doubled as pajamas if she didn’t come home, and a long cream sweater with oversized buttons. Ibis danced on her toes, aware that Kori was getting ready to go somewhere. She seemed to have forgotten that the ground was covered in snow and the temperature had fallen to below freezing again. She was itching to go outside and take a longer walk.
“I think you’re going to be sorely disappointed when you get outside,” Kori said to her dog as she clipped the leash to her collar. “We’ll give it a try.”
Kori led Ibis down through the café and out the front door. She was right. Ibis balked at the white stuff on the ground and wanted nothing more than to turn tail and curl up on Kori’s bed. Preferably with Kori beside her for the extra warmth.
Against Ibis’ best protests and tugs on the leash, Kori led her around back to her waiting Subaru and Ibis jumped in happily. Most of their excursions in the car lately had been either to Kori’s best friend’s house, Nora Farmer at Red Clover Farm, or to her boyfriend’s house, Zach Gulch. Ibis would be happy with either. She just wanted more company than Kori sometimes.
As Kori drove to Zach’s house—extra slowly, as the roads were icing over again and she didn’t see any fresh salt on the road—she thought about Addie’s knowledge of Donnie’s life. She knew about Donnie’s failed attempt at getting married, so she must know more about him. Perhaps she’d even considered him a friend and would be willing to work with Kori on figuring out who killed him. If she already talked to Cecilia today, maybe she would be willing to go and talk to her again, with Kori.
Kori tried extra hard not to let these thoughts lead back to the scene she’d witnessed this morning, but that proved impossible and she once again saw the image of Donnie’s body lying lifeless in the snow. Ibis’ bark brought her back to her senses as she drove by Zach’s driveway.
“Woops. Good thing you’re here or who knows how far I would have driven.”
Kori made a U-turn and parked next to Zach’s car. She saw him through the window at the stove, swaying his hips to whatever song he was listening to, and her heart warmed. She wondered what the next step in their relationship might be—moving in together or getting married? She felt like she was ready for both, which surprised even her.
Zach must have heard her park because he looked up and waved. She didn’t think he could actually see her, but she waved back anyway, then got out of the car, Ibis walking gingerly like she didn’t want to get her feet wet. Or because they were cold.
Zach met them at the door and Kori was overwhelmed with relief. Should she take up Addie’s offer of counseling? No. She had friends for that. And family. Though Jay wasn’t so good at this kind of thing, and her mom had become less involved with Kori’s life since her wedding last month. Not that Kori could complain about that. Lucas was the best thing to happen to Gale and Kori’s relationship.
Zach didn’t say a word when Kori walked inside, Ibis rushing past them both and heading straight for the kitchen. Zach wrapped his arms around Kori and all of the surprises of the day melted away from her.
“I am so sorry I couldn’t stay and make sure you were okay this morning. How are you doing now?” Zach asked, letting Kori go, but still looking intently at her.
Kori felt her breath hitch in her throat but she kept the looming tears of shock at bay. She nodded and said, “I’m doing okay.”
“The station can get you counseling to deal with this. Like after Nora’s kidnapping in August.”
Kori wondered if there was really something to counseling. If everyone kept offering, maybe she should just do it. “Give me a few days. I think I’ll be okay,” Kori said, more confidently this time.
Zach nodded and led the way into the kitchen. As they got closer, Kori let the smells envelope her and she recognized the unmistakable scents of garlic and fish.
“What’s for dinner?” she asked, her taste buds already salivating at the delicious aromas.
“It’s a surprise. First, a drink.”
Kori couldn’t say no to that. She also couldn’t figure out what he had concocted in the two waiting glasses on the counter. She tilted her head in question and furrowed her brow.
“Hot buttered rum,” he told her, handing her a glass.
It was perfectly warm to combat the cold outside and she inhaled the sweetened rum, made extra smooth with melted butter. The nutmeg on top gave it a distinctly Christmas mood.
“To our first Christmas,” Zach said, holding his glass up.
Kori smiled and clinked her glass against his and took a sip. She instantly warmed from the inside out and wondered if customers would buy this with breakfast. She’d give it a try on Friday for Christmas Eve when most people wouldn’t have to work and they could indulge a little extra.
Zach turned back toward the counter where he was slicing an avocado and a tomato. He placed a flour tortilla on a hot pan, letting it crisp to perfection.
“Did you figure out what we’re having yet?” he asked.
Kori thought about it. “Something Mexican. With fish. Fish tacos?”
Zach smiled. “Not on a crispy tortilla, but close.”
“Fish tostadas!”
Zach made the best fish tostadas—a crispy tortilla piled high with a smear of refried black beans, some grated cheddar cheese, baked garlic-lemon fish and topped with avocado and tomato. Sometimes he even threw in some caramelized onions and jalapeño for some heat.
Zach pulled the fish from the oven and Kori’s guess proved correct. He started assembling the tostadas and Kori let her mind run away on her. It stopped at the memory of Cecilia Blake’s possible motive. She decided to ask Zach about it.
“Have you talked to Cecilia Blake?” she asked directly. Given that she had been the first to learn about Donnie’s murder—and in the most awful way—she felt a need to find his killer. She didn’t want to beat around the bush and chance not getting a real answer.
Without breaking stride in beautifully placing the avocado on the tostadas, Zach answered, “No, why?”
Kori paused before answering and Zach looked up. “Addie Winter, Donnie’s boss, told me Donnie left her at the altar a month ago. Could be a possible motive to want him dead.”
Kori wondered what that could possibly mean but she didn’t ask for clarification. She just wondered if she’d be able to follow his advice.
CHAPTER 7
Kori’s alarm rang at four o’clock the next morning. She could have given herself a little extra time to sleep in if she’d gone home, but she’d spent the night at Zach’s where she more easily forgot about yesterday morning’s scene in the parking lot.
She turned the alarm off as quickly as possible and Zach didn’t even open his eyes. He only rolled over, probably on the brink of waking up. Kori crept out of the bedroom, found Ibis on the couch and headed outside. She waited almost ten minutes while her car warmed up and she scraped the windows, but that gave Ibis enough time to not need a walk when they got home because she sniffed every inch of Zach’s driveway.
Kori drove slowly back home, unsure whether Derek had gotten salt on all of the roads for the morning traffic yet. She didn’t run into any problems with her all-wheel drive Subaru and didn’t pass a single car on the road. She was completely alone.
Back home, she rushed inside to get out of the cold and somehow Ibis still managed to beat her to the front door.
“You hate the winter, don’t you?” she asked her dog while she unlocked the café’s door. Ibis danced on her toes, trying to keep the pads of her feet off the cold frozen ground, and bolted inside at her first chance. “I guess that answers my question.” Kori laughed as she walked through the café and upstairs to change into jeans and a t-shirt.
