A Caffeine Conundrum

by Angela Ruth Strong

  Connor’s fake beard wiggled as he shifted his jaw side to side. It also hid his lips, which was a good thing. She shouldn’t be looking at them anyway. “We still don’t know her that well,” he warned.

  “Greg does,” Marissa argued. Though for some reason she was starting to feel like she knew Tandy better than anyone else in town. And she knew everyone. “He wouldn’t have volunteered his time to get her out of jail if he thought she was capable of murder.”

  Connor rocked his weight onto his leg closer to her then looked away before turning back and leveling his gaze. “He knew her as a kid. People change.”

  What did he say? People change? Like a pot of tea?

  Though the pot remained the same, she could dump out the contents and brew more tea? She didn’t get rid of the whole pot if the tea was bitter or weak. Such an analogy made more sense than the phrase about throwing out the baby with the bath water.

  Did this mean that if Connor messed up, they could get past it and move on? They could learn from their disagreement and get back together? Was it possible for her to trust him again if he’d changed? How would she know for sure whether he’d changed or not?

  That scent of fresh cut timber that hung on him everywhere he went hadn’t changed. His protective instincts toward her hadn’t changed. The power of his cloud gray eyes to cause a storm inside her hadn’t changed. Were they growing darker?

  “I can hear you, Connor,” Tandy’s voice called.

  Marissa grimaced. Both because Tandy had overheard and because she’d interrupted.

  Tandy continued. “You’re growling like a Pomeranian. Get in here and see for yourself who I am now.”

  Connor pinched his eyes shut.

  Marissa used the diversion to disappear into the kitchen. The whole idea of change stirred her even more than Connor’s heated gaze. If people could change, then it was okay to make mistakes and grow from them. It was okay to not be perfect.

  It would be okay that Grandmother wasn’t the true Miss Ohio. Had she not been crowned, she could have competed again and won. The fact that she hadn’t honestly earned the title in her first attempt didn’t mean that she never would have. Didn’t mean she was less of a person.

  “Look.” Tandy pointed at the computer monitor.

  It took a moment for Marissa to see through the haze of her thoughts to focus on the article. Then Connor joined her, and his warmth sent her senses haywire once again.

  He leaned forward over Tandy for a better view. “This is the column you wrote?”

  Tandy twisted around to look at them. “Yeah, I usually reviewed local coffee shops, but after I interviewed a guy who roasted coffee beans in his garage, I decided I wanted to try it. That’s when I started researching how coffee is grown. Did you know it’s the second highest traded commodity in the world after oil?”

  Marissa shook her head. Normally, she’d want to argue the benefits of tea here, but she had the feeling Tandy was about to say something negative about coffee herself.

  “I discovered that because of the high demand, many coffee plantations are getting rid of trees and using more pesticides and fertilizers. This not only causes erosion and contaminates waterways, but it reduces habitat for birds and monkeys. So I wrote about it.”

  Connor squinted at the screen. “You implored your readers to buy shade-grown coffee only.”

  Tandy nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t realize the paper would lose advertisers, and I’d lose my job. I thought I was doing something good by educating people.”

  Connor stood straight and folded his arms across the pillow stuffed in his shirt. “You wanted to start over here with your coffee shop.”

  Tandy held her arms wide. “I did. But I’m not desperate. My only crime is trying to protect animals the way you always try to protect Marissa.”

  He slid his gaze Marissa’s direction. “She needs a lot of protection.”

  Marissa narrowed her eyes.

  Connor lifted his eyebrows above the rim of his silly glasses.

  She looked away. Down to Cocoa waiting with the toy gingerbread man in his mouth. She bent to retrieve it. “Look. Here’s the perfect man for me.”

  Connor shook his head in pretend disapproval. “A gingerbread man? Why? Because he’s quiet and sweet and if he gives you any trouble, you can bite his head off?”

  He knew her too well. “Exactly.” She tossed the toy.

  Cocoa bounded after it.

  Though she couldn’t see any part of Connor except his eyes, their twinkle told her his lips were curling up on one side underneath his beard. “You’d be bored.”

  “You’d also be fat because you like to bite heads off.” Tandy looked past her shoulder. “Marissa, there is no such thing as a perfect man. At least this one isn’t a killer like Jenn’s ex. Oh my goodness, did Cocoa just fetch?”

  Connor blinked. “Who thought I was a killer?”

  Tandy gasped and bent over her dog, rubbing him and cooing. She glanced up. “Anyone who’s seen your killer smile.”

  Oh wow. Marissa wasn’t expecting that. Maybe Tandy really was interested in Connor. If not before, surely now that he’d taught her dog a trick. Marissa had to get Connor out of there before he decided to pursue another woman in her own home. One who would let herself be caught.

  Connor tugged his beard down. “This killer smile?”

  His grin was as warm and steamy as her favorite cuppa, but Marissa refused to melt.

  “That’s the one,” Tandy agreed.

  “Let’s go, big guy.” Marissa escaped into the living room then crossed her arms and stared at the ceiling, waiting for him to follow.

  “I don’t really believe you’re guilty, Tandy. I only wish I knew who was.”

  “Me too.”

  Marissa leaned toward the doorway to interrupt. “Come on, Santa. You don’t want to miss your race.”

  Connor strode into the room and almost into her. She jerked upright to avoid the collision. Those other times he’d caught her, they hadn’t been alone, but in her living room they would have more privacy. She didn’t want to have to reject him again because she didn’t know if she could.

  He didn’t even pause but strode past, snapping for Ranger to follow. “It’s nice someone still believes in Santa,” he called back.

  Tandy grinned at Connor’s parting shot. As far as people went, he was at the top of her list. And not her suspect list.

  As for suspects… She frowned at her own picture on the computer screen. She should be looking up the people who might possibly have committed the crime, not herself. She’d researched Cross and Randon, but what about the deputy? Would he really have killed Virginia to get Jenn back? How close had the couple been? Were they engaged like Marissa and Connor had been? Or was it nothing more than a few dates when she was in town. With Jenn gone overseas so much, they couldn’t have been engaged. Or could they?

  She slid her fingers over the keyboard and typed in “Jenn Pierce and Deputy Griffin.”

  An old article popped up. Too old to be an engagement story. In fact, it was so old Tandy had still been spending summers in Grace Springs at the time. Were Jenn and Luke childhood sweethearts the way she and Greg had been? That would definitely be a hard relationship to give up. And if so, Griffin would have known Jenn’s family well. He would have known about Virginia’s heart condition.

  Tandy clicked to enlarge the article.

  Cincinnati Student Has Diamond Stolen

  Tandy’s heart lurched at the headline. Déjà vu with the stolen diamonds. It couldn’t be the same criminal, could it? Is this where Griffin’s double life started?

  Her eyes devoured the article looking for his name. She’d even accept Cross or Evans.

  A sixth-grade student discovered a rare Ohio diamond while on a school field trip to a sand pit. The teacher confirmed her find with the gemology experts at the local university, only to have it stolen from the teacher’s classroom during a lunch break. Police Deputy Collins claims they are looking
for any leads to the stolen diamond, and a reward is currently being offered by the student’s mother, Virginia Pierce.

  Virginia Pierce? That meant Jenn had discovered one of the rare Ohio diamonds. Then Jenn had her diamond stolen.

  Tandy lifted a hand to her mouth as if holding herself back from making any more accusations until it made more sense. Because this really didn’t make any sense at all.

  Just because Jenn once found a diamond and had it stolen didn’t mean she had anything to do with the current heist. And even if she did, how would that lead to killing her own mother? Had Virginia found out and tried to stop her? If so, Jenn would have known exactly how to kill her.

  A warning siren rang in her head. Virginia had changed her will to give everything in her antique shop to the historic society. If the stolen diamonds were somehow in her shop, the historic society would get them back.

  Had Virginia really thought her own daughter might kill her over the diamonds? If Jenn was that dangerous, then there would have to be some kind of past history of her being a criminal.

  “Marissa,” Tandy called. Either the other woman would talk her out of this crazy idea, or she’d confirm it.

  Marissa already looked skeptical as she entered the room. “Tandy, if this is about Connor, then—”

  Connor? The beauty queen had a one-track mind. “It’s not.” Tandy pointed to the computer. “What do you know about Jenn Pierce?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Marissa squinted in confusion at the computer screen. Was Tandy trying to act as if she wasn’t interested in Connor? Or perhaps about to make another ridiculous claim in an attempt to direct guilt somewhere else? Because seriously. “Now you think the victim’s own daughter killed her?”

  Tandy looked up, wide green eyes full of confusion. “I don’t know, but it looks like she has a history with diamonds. Do you know the rest of her history?”

  The article on the screen claimed Jenn once had a diamond stolen from her. Coincidence? The last story Tandy looked up about the local diamond heist suggested a woman had committed the crime.

  Marissa scrolled through her memory. “Jenn was a few years behind me in school, and she left for college as soon as she graduated. Since then, I think she’s worked as an English teacher overseas.”

  Tandy stiffened. “Where?”

  How was Marissa supposed to remember? Just because she knew everybody in town… “Beijing.” The name of the city popped out. “I remember last year Billie was afraid Jenn wouldn’t get much of a Christmas celebration over there, so she sent a package with apple cider and ornaments. I guess Christmas ball ornaments originated from a glassmaker trying to imitate the apples Germans originally used to decorate their trees. You know how Billie loves apples.”

  “Okay...” Tandy’s breath whooshed out as she replaced her fingers over the keyboard. She probably wasn’t talking about the apple/ornament connection. Nope. She typed “Beijing jewel heists.” A list of articles popped up. Most of them related to some sort of Pink Panther gang of British men.

  Marissa twisted her lips to one side at the thought of Jenn in such a gang. Jenn wasn’t British, and she wasn’t a man. She didn’t even drink tea like most Brits, so that couldn’t be it.

  Skeptically, she pointed to another article outlining the seven biggest heists in Beijing history. “Try this one.”

  Tandy positioned the arrow icon and clicked. The image flashed to a list of stolen items and the stories behind them. Bit coins? That required hacking skills. Yuan from 1,400 convenience store ATMS? That would take a syndicate of criminals. A vase?

  Marissa held her hand to her heart. That vase was the very vase she’d almost knocked over in Virginia’s shop. A vase worth over ninety-thousand dollars according to the article. Randon had recognized it but must not have realized it was stolen.

  Tandy froze, as well. “This is huge,” she whispered.

  “What if…” Marissa’s eyes bulged at the implication. “What if Jenn became a thief after she had her diamond taken from her? Virginia could have fenced stolen items for her from all over the world.”

  Tandy sat back. “But she wouldn’t be able to fence the diamonds from her very own town.”

  “You think she told Jenn not to steal them, but Jenn couldn’t resist since this is where it all started for her? Perhaps even why it started?” The idea was crazier than dressing up a dog like Santa Claus and going for a run. She was simply throwing out ideas. But somehow, this idea made more sense than Lukey or even Lavella being a killer. She scrunched her nose because, man, she’d really wanted Lavella to be the bad guy.

  Tandy twisted around. “You think the diamonds are in the shop right now? Virginia could have hidden them so she wouldn’t get caught.”

  Marissa shrugged. That seemed way too easy after all they’d been through. “Can it be that simple? It’s not like Virginia could have hidden the diamonds forever.”

  Tandy ran her fingers through her hair and blew out a breath. “I don’t know, but we have to tell the police.”

  Marissa cringed because that was a big problem. “I’m not sure I believe us, so I know Lukey definitely won’t.”

  Tandy bit her lip and stared out the window at the falling snow. She didn’t only want to be proven innocent of the crime in a court of law—she wanted the real criminal locked behind bars. Could it be that all this time Griffin had been investigating her, the woman he loved had been trying to kill them? Would love blind him to that fact? Would he come after Tandy even harder if she made an accusation against Jenn? Was that why Jenn had dated him in the first place?

  At least Tandy had Greg on her side. She grabbed her phone and dialed his number. Last time she’d called him, she’d been on a rotary phone with a long cord for twisting around her finger as she listened to it ring on the other end. She wished she had something to nervously fidget with now.

  Marissa stood in front of her, hands folded in a pose that would make Tandy think she was praying if not for her wide eyes.

  The receiver clicked, and a tinny recording of Greg’s voice played through the earpiece. “You’ve reached Greg St. James, defense attorney at the Law Office of St. James and Sons. Please leave a message.” A bell chimed.

  “Uh, Greg, this is Tandy.” Should she call him something more formal like Gregory or Attorney St. James? No, that would be weird. “When you get this…”

  Marissa’s head fell backward. “He’s at the Santa run, collecting toys at the finish line for the children’s home.”

  Tandy paused. It bugged her that Marissa knew more about her old friend than she did. But, on the other hand, now they could find him easily.

  “I need to talk to you, so Marissa and I are going to head your way. We think we know who killed Virginia.” She clicked to end the conversation. Even if her beginning had been weak, the ending would definitely have piqued his interest.

  Marissa held up the puppy Santa costume. “It’s a good thing I bought this now, huh?”

  Cocoa ran for cover underneath the desk.

  “No.” Tandy squatted and tapped her fingernails on the stone tile floor. “Come here, Cocoa. I won’t let the crazy lady dress you in any more clothes.”

  “But he was so—”

  Tandy hushed Marissa with a look. “We’re not running in the race, Marissa. We’re only looking for Greg.”

  Cocoa scurried toward her, keeping low to the ground. Tandy scooped his fuzzy little body against her shoulder and stood.

  Marissa struck her pursed-lip pose again. She probably got it from the cover of a fashion magazine and perfected it in the mirror. “It’ll be good to have Greg on your side, though he’s not the one who can arrest Jenn. We need to stop at the police department and talk to Officer Woodward.”

  Tandy groaned. “I just came from there, and I really don’t want to go back. Especially not wearing the same dress from my mugshot.”

  Marissa’s eyes lit up. She grabbed Tandy’s hand and pulled her past the desk into her bedroom. �
��I have a Mrs. Claus—”

  “No.” Tandy’s eyes snapped shut. This was going from bad to worse.

  “How about a polar bear onesie?”

  Tandy opened her eyes to scowl, but she couldn’t keep from chuckling at the image of herself showing up at the police department dressed like an Arctic animal. “Are you kidding me right now?”

  “Yes.” Marissa giggled then disappeared into her cavernous closet. “But you have to wear something festive.” She reappeared with a black baseball cap that read Santa Claus across the front in white stitching. “Here. I won this in a white elephant gift exchange and have been looking for an opportunity to give it away.”

  Tandy tilted her head. She kind of liked it. Well, she liked that it was black. “Fine.”

  Once changed into the outfit she’d left at Marissa’s the day before, which actually matched the hat, she rode shotgun to the police station. With all the cars lining the streets for the Ho-Ho-Holiday Run, this was probably as close as they could get to the finish line anyway.

  Tandy climbed out, carrying Cocoa. His ears perked up at the sight of wave after wave of red and white joggers pouring across the intersection one block over. They were all dressed like Kris Kringle. As small as Grace Springs was, it looked like the whole town had shown up for the event. They probably considered themselves safe since Tandy had been arrested the night before. If they’d known the real killer was still on the loose, they’d more likely be running for their lives.

  Marissa joined her on the sidewalk, tossing her hair and almost losing another beanie. Tandy wished she would lose this one. It matched her Fair Isle sweater and made the plain red beanie from the day they met seem appealing. “You’ll let me do all the talking?” she asked.

  “Gladly.” Tandy hadn’t met Woodward yet, but if he was anything like Griffin, he wouldn’t listen to a word she said. Of course, some of those words had been accusing the deputy of murder…

  Marissa paused in front of the doorway. “Do I tell him about the diary?”