MY FAIR LATTE

by Vickie Fee

  I caught the reference to Kendra’s taboo spring break trip, and she and I shared a knowing smile.

  “Wait. Bart, before you go, there’s something I wanted to say to all of you. I can never thank y’all enough for the way you rallied to help me through all the craziness after the vandalism, and especially after the murder. When I inherited the theater I thought I was moving here to start a new business. I never expected to find a family. But that’s exactly how I feel about each of you.”

  I went misty and the group closed in and crushed me with hugs.

  CHAPTER 30

  After everyone else had said their goodnights, Kendra helped me carry some leftovers and serving platters upstairs.

  “I’m too hyped up to sleep. Can I hang out here for a while?”

  “Kendra, I don’t know why I couldn’t bring myself to tell George that Rafe Carvello isn’t from Italy. I guess it’s like what you and I had talked about before. How everyone is entitled to a bit of reinvention. Like Edgar and his British persona.”

  “And Eliza Doolittle’s transformation,” Kendra said.

  “Exactly. And me as a theater owner.”

  “No, not like you. You’re still who you are. You’ve just moved into the next chapter of your life. But speaking of the theater and your next chapter, there’s something I’d like to give you.”

  Kendra pulled a little velvet pouch from her pocket and shook a shiny pile of something into her palm.

  “By the way, that gold coin you found in the basement is an early twentieth century Indian Head Quarter Eagle, currently worth about three hundred bucks. I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of having Trudy polish it up and make the gold piece into a necklace,” she said holding it up. “The chain belonged to my mom.”

  “Oh, Kendra, it’s beautiful. I’ll get another chain for it. I can’t possibly accept—”

  “No, no. I have lots of my mom’s jewelry. I want you to have this. Here, let me put it on you.”

  She placed it around my neck and fastened the clasp. I ran over and admired it in the bathroom mirror.

  “It’s gorgeous,” I said, touching the coin that lay against my skin.

  “It’s part of the theater—and a legacy from your uncle. I think you should wear it as a good luck charm.”

  “I will. And it’s a good luck charm because I’m lucky enough to have a friend like you.”

  I gave her a little hug then tried to move on before we both started bawling. I’d shed more than enough tears in the past few days.

  “I’m going to have a beer chaser to follow those fancy drinks Bart made at the party. You want one?” I asked.

  “Might as well.”

  We sat down on the sofa and took a drink of our beers.

  “You know I’m actually getting used to your uncle’s skunky beer. Not sure what that says about me?”

  “It says you have a sophisticated palate,” I said.

  “That must be it.”

  “Looking back, I see now that Marco only asked me out after I mentioned that you and I were investigating the murder. He just wanted to keep tabs on what we found out and make sure it wouldn’t point the cops in his direction. I have absolutely no judgment when it comes to men. First the plantation owner’s son, and then the vineyard owner’s son. I guess what that says about me is that I’m a complete idiot.”

  “You are not an idiot. Sounds like you just need to avoid men involved in agriculture.”

  We both started laughing and I leaned my head back with a sigh. Looking up I said, “My love life may be out of control, but one male I do have control over is Derek. While you’re here would you help me take him down?

  “I thought you’d decided to keep him.”

  “Oh, I’m keeping him all right. I just thought he might look better positioned somewhere else on the wall. It seems kind of odd having him up over the door frame like that.”

  “I see what you mean,” Kendra said, gazing up at the deer trophy mounted above the bedroom door. She moved a chair from the dining table and set it in front of the doorway.

  “I’ll take Derek down and hold him in different spots on the wall and you can decide where you like him best.”

  “Sounds like a plan. We can re-hang him and worry about patching the holes later.”

  She stepped onto the chair, reached up and grabbed Derek by both sides of his neck. Suddenly his head swung out from the board it was mounted to.

  We both gasped.

  “That’s strange,” Kendra said, peering into the back of the head. “This looks old school.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “There’s a wire frame and paper maché inside. The more modern method would be to have polyurethane foam inside the mount. Wait a minute…this is just a reproduction.”

  “Are you saying Derek’s a fake?”

  “As fake as Edgar’s accent. Actually, he’s a safe,” Kendra said, pulling an envelope from the inside of the head and holding it up.

  “You mean, there’s a hidden compartment in there?”

  “Yep.” Kendra stepped down from her perch, walked over and held the envelope out to me.

  My hands trembled as I took the envelope and sat down in one of the dining chairs as Kendra joined me at the table. I shook a stack of photographs out of the envelope and fanned them out on the table.

  There was a picture of eight-year-old me standing in front of a television holding my Pokémon Pikachu doll, and one of my brother Josh and me playing in our backyard around that same time. Then there were a series of pictures, recent pictures of me walking down the sidewalk in Nashville, and other candid shots of me behind the counter at the coffee bar where I’d worked there.

  After a quiet moment of disbelief I turned to Kendra.

  “What do you think these photos mean? Do you think Uncle Leon hired Vince, or some other private investigator to locate me?”

  Kendra picked up and leafed through the pictures.

  “We’ll probably never know the whole story. But one thing’s for sure. You may not have thought much about your Uncle Leon since you were eight years old. But it seems he never forgot you.”

  Author’s Note

  Jesse James is as much a legend as a historical figure. He and his gang reportedly hid stolen loot at various times and places in the Ozark Mountains. Cryptic carved symbols discovered on cave and cliff walls have been attributed to the James gang. Jesse and Frank James were known to have visited step-grandparents who lived about fifteen miles from Eureka Springs. The house is still standing and was used as a location in the 1994 movie, Frank and Jesse, starring Rob Lowe.

  Café Cinema’s Utopia Springs is a fictional town inspired by the charming tourist town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. My husband and I have traveled to Eureka Springs a few times and thoroughly enjoyed our visits. I hope I’ve captured a bit of its true charm in this book. (Learn more about this inspirational city at: www.eurekasprings.org).

  Book Clubs and Sisters in Crime Chapters may contact Vickie about scheduling an event via FaceTime, Skype, or Facebook Live at: vickie@vickiefee.com.

  — Vickie Fee

  Reader’s Discussion Guide

  Halley’s life takes an unexpected turn when she inherits a movie theater from a great uncle she met only once as a child. She refers to becoming the owner of a movie theater as a dream that she never remembered having—that was coming true, nonetheless. Has what could be called serendipity or fate ever played a role in your life? How would you describe it?

  My Fair Latte is a blend of mystery, humor and a little romance. Do you feel the book achieves the right balance of those elements?

  Utopia Springs is a small Southern town, population-wise (about 2,200). But as a tourist town with a half-million visitors a year, it has many more and varied kinds of businesses than the typical small town. Wh
at did you think of the setting and do you think it works well for the story and characters in the book?

  Which character did you like/relate to the most?

  Making friends in a new place can sometimes be difficult. Halley had the advantage that her late uncle’s friends were keen to help her, prompted by their affection for Uncle Leon. Have you ever moved to a place where you didn’t know anyone? What helped you make friends/feel that you belonged? Does a pet help a new space feel like home for you?

  The cast in My Fair Latte is inter-generational. Kendra is about Halley’s age, but George and Trudy are old enough to be her grandparents. (One of my dearest friends is twenty years older than me.) Have you had friends much older or younger than you? What do you think the age difference brings to the friendship? Why do you think Halley may have been especially drawn to these older friends?

  Reinvention is a theme in the book. Some of it is a matter of organic change and personal growth and some is calculated. What do you think of someone reinventing themselves and their image? Do you approve of someone reinventing themselves in the way Edgar did?

  If you were casting a movie version of the book, which actors would you choose to play these characters?

  Did you have a favorite scene in the book? If so, why was it your favorite?

  It’s Halley’s personal quest to find out more about Uncle Leon. She feels a connection to him, despite the fact she never had a chance to know him. Have you ever wished you could find out more or tried to learn more about your family or ancestors? What made you want to seek out that information, and how did you feel once you found it?

  About the Author

  A decade ago, author Vickie Fee moved from Memphis on the banks of the muddy Mississippi River to Marquette on the shores of chilly Lake Superior, taking her accent, her sense of humor, and her recipe for Jack Daniels whiskey balls with her. She pens fun cozy mysteries with sassy Southern heroines. My Fair Latte is the first book in her new Café Cinema series. When she’s not dawdling on social media and swilling coffee, you can find Vickie at www.vickiefee.com and in the coop at www.chicksonthecase.com.

  The Café Cinema Mystery Series

  by Vickie Fee

  MY FAIR LATTE (#1)

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