A Taste of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 1)

by Alaine Allister

  Chapter 15

  Clarissa tried desperately to banish all thoughts of Parker from her head. She employed a number of tactics in an attempt to accomplish exactly that. Some of them were more successful than others.

  The first thing she did was sit down with a fork and singlehandedly devour an entire pie, because…pie. To be fair, she didn’t quite eat the entire thing herself. The cat sauntered into the kitchen and helped itself to part of it – probably for the best.

  The second thing Clarissa did, in an effort to avoid eating the two other very tempting pies, was to work on her newspaper. She put in long hours writing and rewriting columns, tweaking the template and agonizing over which fonts looked the best. In fact, she spent two whole days working like a madwoman.

  She managed to complete her first issue in record time…but she wasn’t ready to release it yet.

  Clarissa knew she needed to break a big story to establish her newspaper as a credible source of local information. And right now, the only thing the residents of Sugarcomb Lake were interested in was Jed Black’s murder and the scandal surrounding it.

  Sure, she could have written about some of the gossip that was circulating. It would have been easy to speculate about Jed’s relationship with Bonnie or rehash the details of his confrontation with Nora over town bylaws. But Clarissa didn’t want to publish a tabloid. She was a journalist, not a rumor mill. She was devoted to truth, justice and knowledge.

  That only meant one thing: she needed to catch Jed’s real killer – and soon!

  She was 99% sure Adam Burke was the bad guy. But she still didn’t quite know why he had killed his business partner. Had Adam been stealing money from the company to repay his gambling debts? Maybe Jed had caught him and threatened to turn him into the police. That would make sense, wouldn’t it?

  “It’s all just speculation,” she sighed as she sat at the kitchen table feeling dejected.

  “Meow,” Cat agreed, waddling over and affectionately head-butting her leg.

  “What do you want?” Clarissa asked suspiciously. “You can’t possibly be after more pie.” In a moment of weakness – and in an effort to stop the cat from yowling – Clarissa had sampled the second pie. It had been every bit as scrumptious as the first one, and the cat had obviously agreed. There was now only half of that pie left.

  “Meow,” was, of course, the only reply the cat gave. Then another head-butt was administered.

  “Oh,” Clarissa said when she realized what the cat wanted. “That’s…unexpected. I thought you were for sure trying to manipulate me. But you just wanted your head scratched. I can do that.”

  Clarissa smiled as she scratched the cat’s head, paying special attention to that one particular spot behind its ear. The cat seemed to approve. It felt good to be wanted, needed, useful. And there was something gratifying about hearing the cat she hated purr.

  Okay, so she didn’t hate the cat anymore. Maybe she never truly had.

  But she wasn’t about to tell it that. No way. The cat already thought it was Ruler of the House and Master of the Universe. Its ego didn’t need to get any bigger!

  “Okay, so here’s what I’m going to do,” Clarissa said to the cat, because talking her plan through with a furry feline seemed like the most logical thing to do. “I’m going to make an appointment at the investment firm. I’m going to pretend I actually have money to, you know, invest. And then, with any luck, I’m going to snoop through the office!”

  The cat looked at her but said nothing. It was a cat, so anything other than that would be weird. Clarissa decided to take her little buddy’s silence as a positive sign. She needed all the good vibes she could get!

  She put on her nicest, poshest looking outfit and pulled her hair back in a fancy up-do. There, now she at least looked like she had money. She didn’t bother calling ahead to make an appointment. Something told her that an unexpected drop-in might be more advantageous.

  Why give a suspected killer the heads up that she was coming in when she could catch him by surprise? She wanted Adam Burke to be uncomfortable. She wanted him to squirm, stutter and with any luck, slip up and say something he couldn’t take back.

  Clarissa didn’t really know what, exactly, she was hoping to find at the investment firm. All she knew was she needed to look into the surviving partner of Black & Burke Investors. She had already had the opportunity to snoop around his home. It was only reasonable that she should now stake out the other place where he spent his time: his office.

  She drove into Green City feeling cautiously optimistic that today would be the day everything came together. However, her good mood was short lived. When she noticed she was getting low on gas her thoughts immediately turned to Parker.

  “No,” Clarissa told herself firmly. “Stop obsessing over him, dummy.”

  She turned the radio up loud to drown out her thoughts. She sang along at the top of her lungs, off key and out of tune. And then she stopped and got gas before the arrow pointed to empty.

  She also bought a large coffee. But “large” really didn’t do it justice. The cup was basically the size of a small planet. It was so massive that Clarissa half-expected it to have its own gravitational pull. Liana would have been proud.

  When Clarissa walked into Black & Burke Investors with her purse slung over her shoulder and her coffee in hand, she wasn’t expecting a repeat of last time. When she and Parker had visited the office previously, it had been a chaotic scene. She had assumed that was an anomaly, but today it was much the same thing.

  Yelling could be heard from Adam Burke’s office.

  Even with the door shut, Clarissa could hear a heated argument taking place.

  “Will um...will Mr. Burke be available soon?” Clarissa asked, setting her purse and coffee down.

  Liz the secretary shrugged nonchalantly. “Not sure. You can wait if you want.”

  “Thank you, I will.”

  Today Liz wasn’t being bombarded with calls.

  No, she was playing games on her phone while she smacked loudly on chewing gum. She wasn’t exactly the epitome of professional, but in her short skirt and tight sweater she was easy on the eyes. Clarissa supposed she could understand why Jed – and now Adam – kept her around. Men would be men.

  Clarissa sat down and watched the young woman in the too-short skirt out of the corner of her eye for a moment. Then she cleared her throat until Liz glanced up. When they made eye contact, it provided the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation.

  “I don’t know why anyone would give Adam such a hard time,” Clarissa remarked, nodding toward the office where the shouting was still going on. “He seems like such a nice guy!” After making that statement, she watched Liz carefully for a reaction.

  “It’s just part of the job I guess,” the secretary shrugged, looking bored.

  “Do people come in here and yell a lot?”

  “I guess. I don’t know. People get weird about money, you know? They’re all smiles when there’s a big return on their investments. But the second things go south they play the blame game…even though they knew the risks going into it. It’s dumb.”

  Clarissa nodded. “But Adam is such a nice guy,” she tried again, digging for more info.

  Liz didn’t give much of a reaction. She was back to playing the game on her phone.

  “I heard he’s back on the market,” Clarissa grinned, lowering her voice and forcing herself to act a bit giggly and airheaded. “Is that true? Do you know if he’s seeing anyone?”

  Liz glanced up. “Not that I know of, but I don’t really pay attention.”

  “You don’t? But he’s so good looking!” Clarissa gushed, laying it on thick. “Isn’t he?”

  “I guess. But dull. Jed was old but more interesting. He liked to go out to nice restaurants.”

  “Adam doesn’t go out?”

  “I think he mostly spends his time working,” Liz offered. “Most mornings he’s the first one here and the last to leave. I know s
ome people say you should never leave the office before your boss does but honestly? If I followed that advice I’d have like, no social life!”

  Clarissa nodded sympathetically. “So you and Adam have never…you know?” she asked innocently. “It’s just that if you’re into him then I don’t want to overstep. That would be breaking Girl Code or something, wouldn’t it?”

  “He’s all yours,” Liz replied, still engrossed in the silly game she was playing.

  “What’s the deal with Adam and his ex?” Clarissa asked curiously. “Why did they split up?”

  “She probably got tired of being married to a workaholic,” Liz guessed, her eyes still glued to her phone. “I think the divorce was probably a long time coming. Last I heard, she had moved to Venezuela or some other place in Europe.”

  Clarissa didn’t have the heart to tell Liz that Venezuela wasn’t in Europe.

  The office door opened.

  Out walked a white haired gentleman with ruddy red cheeks.

  Behind him was Adam.

  There was no more yelling. Instead, the two men shook hands and parted on what appeared to be good terms. It was rather amazing to witness considering the heated argument that had been going on mere moments earlier. Now it was as though it had never even happened.

  “Mr. Burke, Clarissa Spencer is here to see you,” Liz announced once the older man was gone. She glanced over at Clarissa and lowered her voice. “She doesn’t have an appointment,” she told her boss, sounding a bit like a little kid tattling on a peer.

  “Ah, the world’s best gardener,” Adam smiled. “To what do I owe this visit?”

  “I was hoping to get some advice about, er, investments,” Clarissa fibbed. “I know that it’s short notice, but I was wondering if you could squeeze me in. I’d really appreciate it! I only need a few minutes of your time.”

  “Sure thing,” Adam agreed. “I need to make a couple phone calls first though. They’re urgent.”

  “No problem, I can wait,” Clarissa assured him.

  “It shouldn’t be too long,” Adam promised before retreating to his office and shutting the door.

  No sooner than Adam had disappeared, someone Clarissa recognized entered the firm.

  “I need to talk to Adam,” Chase Preston said as he marched up to Liz’s desk.

  “He’s on an important call,” Liz advised.

  “Well tell him to hang up.”

  Liz glanced down at the phone on her desk and then looked back up at Chase. She hesitated. Then she reluctantly asked, “Are you sure you want me to interrupt him?”

  “Yes,” Chase said firmly. “Tell him I’m here, please. He’ll see me.”

  Liz looked at the phone again. Then she appeared to think better of calling. She stood up, straightened her short skirt and then teetered down the hall toward Adam’s office in her sky high, ridiculously impractical stilettos.

  Chase, meanwhile, started pacing around the waiting area. His jaw was clenched and he appeared to be lost in thought. He didn’t seem to notice Clarissa at first. When he did, he seemed momentarily startled. Then he regained his composure.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she smiled.

  He walked over and sat down. He picked a magazine up from the rack next to his chair but didn’t bother to open it. Instead, he looked over at Clarissa again. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name,” he admitted sheepishly.

  “Clarissa,” she reminded him. “Change your mind about working here?”

  “What? Oh, no. Just getting some financial advice,” he replied. “As it turns out, traveling through Europe is not cheap. Who knew?”

  “Huh, well there go my summer plans,” Clarissa joked.

  Liz returned from Adam’s office then. She looked at Chase. “Adam can see you now,” she informed him, much to Clarissa’s surprise. Then she gave Clarissa an apologetic look. “Adam apologizes for keeping you waiting. He promises he won’t be much longer.”

  “It’s perfectly fine,” Clarissa assured her. “That’s what I get for showing up without an appointment. Actually,” she said as Chase disappeared into Adam’s office, “I think I’m just going to run off and use the ladies’ room.”

  She didn’t actually have to use the washroom.

  Instead, she walked toward it very slowly, pausing outside Adam’s office door. Liz, who was apparently completely obsessed with the dumb game on her phone, paid her no attention whatsoever. It presented an excellent opportunity to eavesdrop.

  The voices were still muffled through the closed door, but the intonations spoke volumes. As Clarissa lingered in the hallway, she could tell the discussion was becoming tense. Voices that were initially hushed grew louder and angrier.

  “You made a huge mistake!” Chase hollered. “This all could have been avoided!”

  “It wasn’t my call,” Adam protested. “And keep your voice down, would you?”

  “I don’t think you’re in any position to tell me what to do,” Chase shot back.

  But then, much to Clarissa’s disappointment, he began to speak in a quieter voice. Both men did. She pressed her ear against the door but was still unable to make out what was being said. It was a real shame because it had sounded like the conversation was just getting interesting!

  It sounded like Chase knew something incriminating about Adam.

  Maybe, during his time working for Adam, he had witnessed unethical business practices. Maybe he even knew firsthand that Adam was stealing from the company. That, of course, was purely speculation on Clarissa’s part. But the argument in Adam’s office gave credibility to her theory that the businessman had been stealing from the firm.

  When Adam’s office door flew open unexpectedly, Clarissa had no choice but to race off to the ladies’ room. Otherwise it would have been way too obvious that she had been eavesdropping. She would have loved to hear more, but she had already gotten quite an earful.

  And when the door opened, she realized something.

  As it turned out, Adam Burke was on a completely unprofessional tirade when he flew out of his office. He was cursing left, right and center. And some of his “unique” language choices struck a chord with Clarissa.

  She remembered those vulgar obscenities.

  They were the same ones she had heard in the woods the night of Jed Black’s murder.

  She had no doubt about it: Adam Burke was the man who had run past her the night of the murder. He had been racing through the woods shortly after the shooting, agitated and cursing. He had come from the direction of Jed Black’s cabin.

  If that wasn’t compelling evidence, Clarissa didn’t know what was.

  But, being a good journalist – and a sucker for a juicy scoop – she wanted more.

  She exited the ladies’ room and quickly retrieved her purse and gigantic cup of coffee from the waiting area. Then, because Liz was completely distracted by her phone, Clarissa took it upon herself to rap on Adam’s partially-closed office door.

  “Come in,” he called, sounding defeated.

  “I hope this isn’t a bad time,” Clarissa said, poking her head in. “I’ll be quick, I promise!”

  Adam was slumped over at his desk looking dishevelled. “Have a seat,” he said wearily.

  She sat across the desk from him and plunked her purse and coffee down in front of her. She wished she had actually prepared a spiel of some sort because at the moment, she had no idea what to say. She would simply have to wing it – she had no choice.

  She reminded herself that she was a writer. She made her living turning words into sentences – or at least she had before the Gazette had been shut down. True, she didn’t know a thing about investing. But how hard could it be to come up with something convincing?

  “I want information about stocks and portfolios,” she announced, hoping that made sense.

  “Okay…what specifically do you want to know?”

  “Say I had a hundred thousand dollars,” Clarissa replied, presenting a hypothetical scenario
to him without having to actually lie or admit she was living paycheck to paycheck. “What would you recommend I do with that kind of money? You know, to uh…make the most of it.”

  “That depends on a variety of factors,” Adam began to explain.

  Clarissa chose that moment to give her coffee a little nudge. She had already loosened the lid to make sure it would do nothing to prevent spills. Thankfully, her devious plan worked like a charm. Lukewarm coffee splashed all over Adam’s desk and his expensive dress shirt and tie.

  “Oh!” Clarissa gasped, hoping she was a convincing enough actress. “Oh, I’m so sorry! What a klutz! I’ll clean up the desk,” she assured him, pulling a wad of tissues from her purse. “You go get yourself cleaned up.”

  The second Adam stepped out of the room, Clarissa leapt into action.

  She pulled out the flash drive she had stashed in her purse, jumped onto Adam’s computer and copied its contents. Then, moving as quickly as she could, she opened up his filing cabinet and scanned the folders inside. Thankfully they were all as meticulously labeled as those in Adam’s home office had been.

  Most of the folders were work-related – and boring. Clarissa skipped over them. She was more interested in the one at the very back that was labelled “Personal.” It really was lucky that Adam was so obsessive compulsive about organization.

  She took the folder out and opened it up. The good news was that it wasn’t overly full. The bad news was there were still far too many papers for her to read through before Adam returned and caught her snooping. And she definitely didn’t want to be caught snooping!

  Thinking fast, Clarissa spread the papers out on the floor as she had yet to clean the spilled coffee from the desk. She whipped out her phone and hurriedly photographed as much as she could. She was sure she was breaking all sorts of confidentiality laws but in her opinion, solving a murder trumped that.

  She managed to put the papers back in the folder and return it to the filing cabinet before Adam walked in – barely. He found her kneeling on the floor and gave her a quizzical look.